The Origin of Abbey Dawn!
OCTOBER 22 - NEWS FLASH ! :)
I just met Avril Lavigne this week IN PERSON and even got to talk to her for a couple of minutes!
It was at a Canon Canada press event where they invited 10 "Super Fans" to have a meet-and-greet with Avril after they announced this new partnership between her and Canon Canada.
Details can be found at www.shootlikeastar.ca and I will be writing a new and full post about this event and what it was like to meet Avril in person when I get my copy of the photo they took of me and Avril together. Sweet!
So check back within the week for that post I'll make here, or Subscribe with your email (on the right side of this page) so you'll know as soon as I publish that article!
------------------------
When I first heard that Avril Lavigne was coming out with her own clothing line named Abbey Dawn, I wondered where she found that name and later read it was a childhood nickname...
But the only reference I could find about it was in a 2004 Blender.com interview where Avril was asked by a fan:
"What was your nickname when you were in school?"
And she answered:
"I didn’t have a nickname. Oh, yeah, I did — Abbey. Abbey Dawn. I think it’s a place. That’s what my dad called me, so all my friends did, too."
So it didn't sound like Avril may have known where exactly "Abbey Dawn"... but the name sounded familiar to me...
----------------
July 2008 Update! Abbey Dawn Clothes can be found on eBay now!
To see them, just click here:
Avril Lavigne's Abbey Dawn Clothing Line
----------------
Then I remembered it was the name of a road I'd driven by just outside of Kingston (which is near Napanee) - and since roads are often named after people or places, I searched around to see where Abbey Dawn Road got it's name...
(click here to see a Google map showing the spot where Abbey Dawn was located)
After searching around Google for a while, I discovered "Abbey Dawn" was a real place created by a famous Canadian poet, Wallace Havelock Robb, who was born in Belleville (the same birth place as Avril) in 1888. And as a poet, he held to the ancient tradition of the role of Abbé - more or less like a priest of ancient times - and became known as the Abbé of Abbey Dawn.
Wallace Havelock Robb
-- Photo by Klaas Tuinman --
Abbey Dawn was not only a 500 acre sanctuary for birds (a bluebird sanctuary and maybe the very first sanctuary for "birds of prey" in North America), but also someplace Avril would fit right in since it was a gathering place for artists, poets, writers & all types of creative and spiritual people.
And in another coincidence that makes Avril's nickname even more appropriate, Abbey Dawn was also well known for its large bronze bell (the Poet's Bell) that was rung for important occasions like weddings and christenings... and the bell's Ojibway Indian name was "Gitchi Nagamo", which in English means "Beautiful Song"! :)
Here's a photo showing the south side of Abbey Dawn, where you can see part of the large marsh that was part of the sanctuary and where an astrolabe (navigation device) was discovered that may have belonged to one of our most famous explorers, Samuel de Champlain.
Unfortunately Wallace Robb passed away in 1976 and although the property had been kept in the family for many years, it appears by the end of the 1980s his homestead had been torn down and all evidence of Abbey Dawn has since disappeared. :(
So it seems appropriate that Avril's dad nicknamed her "Abbey Dawn" as a child, since it was a place for creative people - which no doubt included singers and musicians, along with writers and poets - and featured a famous bell that was named "Beautiful Song".
UPDATE: CONFIRMED!
About two and a half weeks after posting this, a celebrity website called "Just Jared" interviewed Avril and asked her:
"Your clothing line, Abbey Dawn, was a nickname from your dad? How did he get that" nickname?
And Avril answered:
"He worked in Kingston, and it was like a street name or something. It was this area called Abbey Dawn and I don’t know. He just called me Abbey and Abbey Dawn. All my friends in high school called me Abbey, and when I first started out, my alias name was always Abbey Dawn in my hotel rooms, so it was something that stuck with me my entire life."
So it sounds like Avril still isn't completely sure what or where Abbey Dawn is or was - but knows it was an area called Abbey Dawn (the sanctuary I talk about above) and it is a street or (more accurately) a road called Abbey Dawn.
NEW - And here's a video of Avril talking about her Abbey Dawn clothing line with girls modeling some of her clothes, plus she mentions again that Abbey Dawn was from a street by that name (the same one I have my picture with above)...
Hopefully she'll see my post here soon and know all the history behind the source of her nickname... but until then, YOU know more about it than SHE does! :)
Abbey Dawn Clothes can be found on eBay now!
To see them, just click here:
Avril Lavigne's Abbey Dawn Clothing Line
BTW - you can read Just Jared's interview online her: part 1 | part 2
NOTE: My research included not just Google searching but also getting a 1970 publication from the Kingston Historic Society that included an article called "The Abbé of Abbey Dawn".
And I got valuable first-hand information by exchanging email with Klaas Tuinman who was a friend of Wallace Robb. And not only was a friend, but he had his own son christened at Abbey Dawn where "Gitchi Nagamo" was rung and Wallace Robb wrote the entire ceremony out with a quill on parchment paper! :)
You can read more about Abbey Dawn and Wallace Robb at Klaas Tuinman's own website called Dawn Cove Abbey. And also information on this webpage.
Thanks also to Melissa who let me use the top Avril picture, and you can see more of her pics at avril-images.net . Original Post written: Sunday, April 06, 2008
I just met Avril Lavigne this week IN PERSON and even got to talk to her for a couple of minutes!
It was at a Canon Canada press event where they invited 10 "Super Fans" to have a meet-and-greet with Avril after they announced this new partnership between her and Canon Canada.
Details can be found at www.shootlikeastar.ca and I will be writing a new and full post about this event and what it was like to meet Avril in person when I get my copy of the photo they took of me and Avril together. Sweet!
So check back within the week for that post I'll make here, or Subscribe with your email (on the right side of this page) so you'll know as soon as I publish that article!
------------------------
When I first heard that Avril Lavigne was coming out with her own clothing line named Abbey Dawn, I wondered where she found that name and later read it was a childhood nickname...But the only reference I could find about it was in a 2004 Blender.com interview where Avril was asked by a fan:
"What was your nickname when you were in school?"
And she answered:
"I didn’t have a nickname. Oh, yeah, I did — Abbey. Abbey Dawn. I think it’s a place. That’s what my dad called me, so all my friends did, too."
So it didn't sound like Avril may have known where exactly "Abbey Dawn"... but the name sounded familiar to me...
----------------
July 2008 Update! Abbey Dawn Clothes can be found on eBay now!
To see them, just click here:
Avril Lavigne's Abbey Dawn Clothing Line
----------------
Then I remembered it was the name of a road I'd driven by just outside of Kingston (which is near Napanee) - and since roads are often named after people or places, I searched around to see where Abbey Dawn Road got it's name...
(click here to see a Google map showing the spot where Abbey Dawn was located)
After searching around Google for a while, I discovered "Abbey Dawn" was a real place created by a famous Canadian poet, Wallace Havelock Robb, who was born in Belleville (the same birth place as Avril) in 1888. And as a poet, he held to the ancient tradition of the role of Abbé - more or less like a priest of ancient times - and became known as the Abbé of Abbey Dawn.
Wallace Havelock Robb
-- Photo by Klaas Tuinman --
Abbey Dawn was not only a 500 acre sanctuary for birds (a bluebird sanctuary and maybe the very first sanctuary for "birds of prey" in North America), but also someplace Avril would fit right in since it was a gathering place for artists, poets, writers & all types of creative and spiritual people.
And in another coincidence that makes Avril's nickname even more appropriate, Abbey Dawn was also well known for its large bronze bell (the Poet's Bell) that was rung for important occasions like weddings and christenings... and the bell's Ojibway Indian name was "Gitchi Nagamo", which in English means "Beautiful Song"! :)
Here's a photo showing the south side of Abbey Dawn, where you can see part of the large marsh that was part of the sanctuary and where an astrolabe (navigation device) was discovered that may have belonged to one of our most famous explorers, Samuel de Champlain.
Unfortunately Wallace Robb passed away in 1976 and although the property had been kept in the family for many years, it appears by the end of the 1980s his homestead had been torn down and all evidence of Abbey Dawn has since disappeared. :(
So it seems appropriate that Avril's dad nicknamed her "Abbey Dawn" as a child, since it was a place for creative people - which no doubt included singers and musicians, along with writers and poets - and featured a famous bell that was named "Beautiful Song".
UPDATE: CONFIRMED!
About two and a half weeks after posting this, a celebrity website called "Just Jared" interviewed Avril and asked her:
"Your clothing line, Abbey Dawn, was a nickname from your dad? How did he get that" nickname?
And Avril answered:
"He worked in Kingston, and it was like a street name or something. It was this area called Abbey Dawn and I don’t know. He just called me Abbey and Abbey Dawn. All my friends in high school called me Abbey, and when I first started out, my alias name was always Abbey Dawn in my hotel rooms, so it was something that stuck with me my entire life."
So it sounds like Avril still isn't completely sure what or where Abbey Dawn is or was - but knows it was an area called Abbey Dawn (the sanctuary I talk about above) and it is a street or (more accurately) a road called Abbey Dawn.
NEW - And here's a video of Avril talking about her Abbey Dawn clothing line with girls modeling some of her clothes, plus she mentions again that Abbey Dawn was from a street by that name (the same one I have my picture with above)...
Hopefully she'll see my post here soon and know all the history behind the source of her nickname... but until then, YOU know more about it than SHE does! :)
Abbey Dawn Clothes can be found on eBay now!
To see them, just click here:
Avril Lavigne's Abbey Dawn Clothing Line
BTW - you can read Just Jared's interview online her: part 1 | part 2
NOTE: My research included not just Google searching but also getting a 1970 publication from the Kingston Historic Society that included an article called "The Abbé of Abbey Dawn".
And I got valuable first-hand information by exchanging email with Klaas Tuinman who was a friend of Wallace Robb. And not only was a friend, but he had his own son christened at Abbey Dawn where "Gitchi Nagamo" was rung and Wallace Robb wrote the entire ceremony out with a quill on parchment paper! :)
You can read more about Abbey Dawn and Wallace Robb at Klaas Tuinman's own website called Dawn Cove Abbey. And also information on this webpage.
Thanks also to Melissa who let me use the top Avril picture, and you can see more of her pics at avril-images.net . Original Post written: Sunday, April 06, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008 4:24:00 AMHi Courtney,
Although your theory about the origin of the name "Abbey Dawn" may
indeed be correct, I think that Avril's father, probably
started calling her 'Avvy", which is a nickname for Avril; and because
the 'baby Avril' would have pronounced it as "Abby", that's what it became.
Then, over time, it became: "Abbey Dawn", which, as you revealed in your excellent article, is a well-known and attractive place name in the Kingston area.
Having two grown-up daughters myself, I know all about childhood nicknames.
What a nice article, Courtney! Congrats! SFA Web Admin
Tom
Web Admin
Seniors For Avril
http://avril.rules.it/
Monday, April 14, 2008 1:15:00 PM
Hi!
Thanks for writing Tom. I have seen you (or another member of Seniors for Avril) defending Avril on many websites where they try to spread lies about her, and it's nice to have another dedicated Avril fan to help me keep them honest! :)
And you could be correct about the details of how Avril got this nickname from her dad...
I was concerned about that, and considered maybe he just saw the name of the road and thought it was a cute nickname for her (perhaps adding "Dawn" after the original nickname "Abbey", like you're thinking, after seeing that street name), but without actually knowing HOW that road got its name...
But I figure even if her dad DIDN'T know how that road got its name, the Abbey Dawn sanctuary is still the source for the name "Abbey Dawn Road", so technically I'd still be right... I think. :)
Thanks again for commenting on my blog and for continuing to put all those Avril haters in their place!
~ Courtney
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 4:32:00 AM
Hi Courtney,
Your kind words re: SFA are much appreciated. :-)
I think that it's highly likely that we are both correct, concerning the origin of Avril's childhood pet name.
The family, having lived in the area for a number of years, must have been familiar with the Abbey Dawn Sanctuary, so it is easy to assume that there is some connection.
After reading your well-researched material on the subject, I cannot help but feel, that you will have a great career in investigative journalism someday.
I have taken the liberty of creating a small banner and link to your excellent blog, which will be found on our site @ URL:
http://avril.rules.it/
This banner & Link will be found
right between the Avril Bandaids Banner & The Napanee Chamber of Commerce Banner on the above mentioned page.
Trusting that this will be satisfactory, and wishing you
every success in your endeavours.
Sincerely,
Tom
SFA Web Admin
http://avril.rules.it/
========================
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:42:00 PM
Thanks for the interesting article about Avril's nickname, 'Abbey Dawn'. Somehow it seems that name suits her well. I'm glad to see that Avril is doing so well; her third album is awesome, she's doing her own clothing line with Kohls, her own fragrance will soon follow, and she is applying her talents now to movies. I look forward to seeing more great things from Avril in the years to come. She's a super cool person with a very bright future.
-Gentz
Monday, June 09, 2008 10:24:00 PM
Heya. Long time no talk. I just heard about Avril's clothing line myself and did a google search and found myself back at your page.
Good to see you're still writing!
Peace,
The Roachy Jay
(If you don't remember me, I made the video mocking the Rubinoo's difficult-to-understand lyrics)
Friday, July 25, 2008 1:57:00 AM
I loved your article. It was very interesting!But I also found this:
Abbey Dawn is a luxury holiday villa located in an idyllic setting on the small-gated community of The Abbey at West Haven. With unparalleled views overlooking a large conservation area, Abbey Dawn is just 12 minutes from Walt Disney World. (abbeydawn.com)
Apparently many things are called abbey dawn. :)
btw. I love this clothing line & avril.
- ceci
Friday, July 25, 2008 3:05:00 PM
@ Roachy Jay...
Hi! Sorry it took so long to reply, but thanks for visiting my blog again (and yes, I *do* remember you!). :)
@ Ceci...
Hi Ceci - thanks for reading my post and your comments!
It's funny you mentioned that Abbey Dawn holiday villa, because when I was first trying to research the origin of Avril's nickname I was worried that maybe her family had visited Disney World when she was a young girl and they stayed at that villa (and her dad used that place as the source of her nickname)! :)
But that's why it was a relief when she was interviewed after I wrote this post and she confirmed the nickname came from the street (actually a 'road') he saw when he worked in Kingston.
The Abbey Dawn Road I went to was named after the sanctuary, and so any other streets, crescents, or whatever that're also named Abbey Dawn around here would also have that same sanctuary as its source.
I think the founder of the local sanctuary gave it that name because the tall trees made him think of being in an Abbey (with tall arches and pillars?) at dawn.
Thanks for writing! :)
~ Courtney
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 12:27:00 AM
HEYY!
i just wanted to say that his information is so interesting to me because my name is abby dawn and i have never met anyone ever with that name!! i kno its dorky but this is really fasinating to me! and thank you so much for goin into it and really doin research i kno it wasnt for me but its so cool at the same time!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 12:33:00 PM
Hi!
Thanks for reading my article and leaving a comment.
You're lucky to be named Abbey Dawn - that's awesome! If I was you, I'd buy some of Avril's "Abbey Dawn" clothes that have the name on it. :)
Bye!
~ Courtney
Friday, October 31, 2008 12:00:00 PM
hello Avril = hot and she is so awesome & pretty !!
Friday, October 31, 2008 12:09:00 PM
avril is NOT silly!!she is awesome and her new single ''girlfriend'' is very pretty! girlfriend is my favorite single from Avril:
Hey Hey You You
I don't like your girlfriend
No way No way
I think you need a new one
Hey Hey You You
I could be your girlfriend
Hey Hey You You
I know that you like me
No way No way
No, it's not a secret
Hey Hey You You
I want to be your girlfriend
You're so fine
I want you mine
You're so delicious
I think about you all the time
You're so addictive
Don't you know
What I can do
To make you feel alright
Don't pretend
I think you know
I'm damn precious
And hell yeah
I'm the mother f******* princess
I can tell you like me too
And you know I'm right
She's like so whatever
You can do so much better
I think we should get together now
And that's what everyone's talking about
Hey Hey You You
I don't like your girlfriend
No way No way
I think you need a new one
Hey Hey You You
I could be your girlfriend
Hey Hey You You
I know that you like me
No way No way
No, it's not a secret
Hey Hey You You
I want to be your girlfriend
I can see the way
I see the way
You look at me
And even when you look away
I know you think of me
I know you talk about me all the time
again and again
So come over here
and tell me what I wanna hear
Better, yet, make your girlfriend disappear
I don't wanna hear you say her name
ever again
Because...
She's like so whatever
You can do so much better
I think we should get together now
And that's what everyone's talking about
Hey Hey You You
I don't like your girlfriend
No way No way
I think you need a new one
Hey Hey You You
I could be your girlfriend
Hey Hey You You
I know that you like me
No way No way
No, it's not a secret
Hey Hey You You
I want to be your girlfriend
In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
'Cause I can, 'cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in
She's so stupid, what the hell were you thinking?
In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
'Cause I can, 'cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in
She's so stupid, what the hell were you thinking?
Hey Hey You You
I don't like your girlfriend
No way No way
I think you need a new one
Hey Hey You You
I could be your girlfriend
(No Way)
Hey Hey You You
I know that you like me
No way No way
No, it's not a secret
Hey Hey You You
I want to be your girlfriend
Hey Hey You You
I don't like your girlfriend ( No Way!)
No way No way
I think you need a new one (Hey!)
Hey Hey You You
I could be your girlfriend (No Way!)
Hey Hey You You
I know that you like me (Now Way!)
No way No way
No, it's not a secret (Hey!)
Hey Hey You You
I want to be your girlfriend (No Way!)
Hey
Friday, October 31, 2008 12:12:00 PM
Avril is awesome and her music is very pretty ! the single Girlfriend is my favorite
hey hey you you
i don't like your girlfriend
no way no way
i think you need a new one...
and:
don't pretent i think you know i'm damn precious
and hell yeah i'm the mother fucking princess...
Sunday, November 02, 2008 1:24:00 PM
Av ril Av ril...her tour was very awesome!avril,i love you !!!!!1
Sunday, November 02, 2008 1:25:00 PM
i love the music from Avril...her music = awesome and she's so happy!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, November 06, 2008 12:58:00 PM
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:15:00 AM
Wow So I Was Shoppin In Kohls And I Saw Abbey Dawn Writen Rele Cool And IThought Wow Tht Is So Me I Have 3 Abbey Dawn Shirts And Im Buyin A Sweatshirt Soon I Absolutly Loove This Brand Of CLothing!!!!!! Woot! X( Alicia )X
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