My story
Launched in April 2013 by Suzanne Hartmann, Old Sage Hands began as a lifestyle blog on healthy living. Slowly it evolved to become a Toronto-based company providing editing, consulting and creative services.
Old Sage Hands is grateful to work in the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Anishnabewaki, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
Personal life
Suzanne Elki Yoko Hartmann is an editor, writer and children’s book author. Her writing reflects her roots as a fourth-generation Japanese Canadian with German ancestry and explores meaningful coincidences, cultural memories and identity. She has worked in media for the last 30 years: About 20 years in print and a decade in broadcast television.
Suzanne has a bachelor’s degree in Radio and Television Arts, and a certificate in magazine publishing from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson). She also holds a master of fine arts in creative nonfiction from the University of King’s College. She lives with her husband and dog in Toronto.
Her unique hybrid memoir The Nail That Sticks Out: Reflections on the Postwar Japanese Canadian Community is being published by Dundurn Press. This next-generation story explores an evolving community through memories of places, events and traditions while tackling issues of identity, belonging and racism. Through the lens of wartime incarceration, family honour, traditional arts and human connection, it celebrates the historical and cultural contributions of the Japanese Canadian community to the Toronto landscape. Publication is expected for fall 2024.
