In a quiet seaside town famous for its murals, two sisters are bringing Chemainus into the international spotlight again — this time for cannabis. Their small-town brand is making big waves with awards, industry praise and soon, a television feature.
Sisters Sonja Riddle and Terra Maibach, co-owners of Violet Wild on Willow Street, were named among the Top 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Look Out For in 2025 by the NYC Journal. The recognition follows a Platinum win at the 2024 Hermes Creative Awards for Violet Wild’s branding and copy, as well as a Gold award for logo and print design created with Vancouver Island design studio Array.
Their shop was also recognized by High Canada Magazine in its Best of the Best issue for independent retailers across Canada. The magazine praised Violet Wild for “the best curated menu I have ever seen and the most pleasant shop to visit. Nestled in a small and quaint community, this shop represents everything that is right about our sector.”
These accolades follow their win as Independent Retailer of the Year at the 2023 Grow Up Conference and Expo.
“It means everything to me, honestly,” said Maibach of the awards. “We know that what we have here is very special, but it does feel good to also be acknowledged. It is that feedback from outside showing that you’re doing the right thing.”
The sisters will soon share their story on Legacy Makers, a television series that spotlights entrepreneurs and changemakers from around the world. Riddle and Maibach filmed their episode recently in Miami Beach, Fla.
While being surrounded by a hair and makeup team and cameras felt surreal, what they took from it was something deeper.
“It was really the process of going back and looking over our history,” Riddle said. “We are third-generation women entrepreneurs. The process of actually gathering the information for the docuseries, having conversations with our mom about what it was like for her — she was 40 years in business — I found the most profound, and the most powerful.”
Diving into that personal history included revisiting difficult times too.
Their parents built a successful roofing company when the sisters were young. But their father lived with undiagnosed mental health challenges and struggled with addiction. After he could no longer continue, their mother successfully carried the business on for years until she eventually sold it. Sadly, their father died due to addiction in 2009. The sisters still see the company’s trucks around Nanaimo and it always makes them smile — a reminder of the family business that helped shape them.
“I got into mental health because of his struggles,” Riddle said.
She has worked in the mental health field for more than a decade and continues that work alongside Violet Wild, operating a not-for-profit organization called Legacy West Healing that supports family members who love somebody struggling with addiction.
Riddle said she once worried how her addictions care background and nonprofit work would be perceived next to cannabis retail, but the two paths have converged.
“I’ve really learned that this is my ‘stay wild’, as well,” she said, referring to the company’s motto. “This is my authentic self, and I can hold two very complicated sets of values. Cannabis is not black and white, neither is addiction.”
Before co-founding Violet Wild, Maibach built a thriving career in real estate, where she was a top producer, known for her forward-thinking approach and magnetic presence. She also earned a reputation as a dynamic speaker on authentic networking and relationship-building. Maibach spoke at conferences across North America and Europe sharing her philosophy of “authentic connecting” and redefining how personal branding and human connection can drive business success.
After selling her real estate company in 2018, she took what she calls “a leap of faith,” following a pull toward something more purpose-driven. That journey eventually led to Violet Wild.
She’s carried that same approach into the cannabis industry, where she attends international events including Spannabis in Spain and the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin.
Inside the shop, she emphasizes community connection as much as curation.
“I love working with people,” Maibach said. “When you’re served by me, it’s a full dance and it’s an experience. I enjoy it. I care.”
The awards, the magazine praise and now the television spotlight all mean momentum for Violet Wild. But Maibach says the most meaningful recognition still comes from the people who walk through the door.
“What we do at Violet Wild is different,” Riddle said. “There are a lot of people who sell weed. There are a lot of people who have stores that don’t make you feel the way we make someone feel."
“That’s the award,” adds Maibach.
For the sisters behind Violet Wild, there’s no better accolade than the connection they’ve built with their community.
