A visit to BRIKA, the Toronto-based makers’ marketplace, offers a visual feast that will have your eyes popping and might inspire your next creative streak, if not your next shopping spree. You can revel in Michelle Meronek’s minimalist jewelry from her Brooklyn New York Studio Acre Goods, or check out Krista and Steve of Among the Pines, a husband and wife duo who make quirky, wood-based housewares. Then there’s self-taught crafter Cathy Pascual who makes eclectic stitched wall art in her Catshy Crafts store, and The Oyster’s Pearl’s adorable yet lively printed T-shirts.
Alison Rhoades
Recent Posts
The Boutique Hub Founder on Her Platform Dedicated to Empowering Small Business Owners
Feb 14, 2018 by Alison Rhoades posted in Ecommerce, Retail, Stores
Hailing from rural Bowman in North Dakota, Ashley Alderson didn’t have a lot of shopping opportunities in her area growing up. In fact, she says that it wasn’t until later on, touring the country as Miss Rodeo America and that she discovered the exciting world of independently-owned shops.
Just one look at Emily Waters’ Instagram page reveals a passion and keen sensibility for the arts. Enticing forms and colors meet enthralling patterns and stylish yet classic garments that are beautifully yet effortlessly photographed. Such a talent for composition doesn’t happen by chance, but is a result of years of training and perfecting the practice of looking. While some choose to take their passion for the arts to the easel, camera, or runway, Emily has decided to use her skills to help others create original products that will change consumers’ lives.
A Marketing Consultancy Geared Toward Supporting Female Business Founders
Feb 14, 2018 by Alison Rhoades posted in Ecommerce, Retail, Stores
Sometimes our passions lead us to unexpected places. One minute, for example, you’re running marketing and communications for one of the country’s most respected publications, the next you’re setting up your own consultancy dedicated to helping burgeoning brands headed up by women find their place in a crowded market where they are often underrepresented.
An Adult in a Candy Store
Feb 1, 2018 by Alison Rhoades posted in Ecommerce, Retail, Stores
Remember the pure bliss of your first trip to a candy store as a child? The sparkling, sugar-coated gummies, the fragrant milk chocolates, the lollipops lined up like soldiers along the wall ready to be plucked from their perch and savored until the very last lick: there was truly nothing like it. Adulthood brings many sorrows with it, not least of them forfeiting access to the forbidden fruits of childhood delights, like the rare trip to the sugar-laden garden of eden.
Thrive Market’s Nick Green on Bringing Healthy Food to Families Across America
Clean and green eating has been on the rise for some time in the United States, with local co-ops and industry giants like Whole Foods springing up in urban and suburban cityscapes from California to Connecticut. Yet the majority of Americans living in rural America and food deserts in urban capitals suffer from a lack of access to healthy food options and adequate education on living a healthy lifestyle. This has had overreaching consequences for our country, with an astounding 9.4% of Americans suffering from diabetes as recently as 2015.
RageOn! CEO Mike Krilivsky on Custom Printing and Changing the Intellectual Property Landscape
On your first visit to RageOn.com, the first thing that will catch your eye is likely “Taco Cat T-Shirt”, featuring a cuddly kitten holding a slice of pizza and a taco in her paws against the backdrop of a psychedelic, purple-hued solar system. Next to it, an oven-baked pepperoni pizza pattern covers every inch of an adult jumpsuit, while a lifelike ziplock bag full of marijuana makes for an excellent throw-pillow.
Jewelry Designer Nadine Ghosn on Building Her Delightfully Quirky Brand
The world of high-end jewelry can feel daunting for the everyday shopper. The lavish diamond earrings flickering in a Tiffany’s window display, eye-catching as they may be, have become more a status symbol than a playful, authentic form of self-expression. What if you’re looking for something more daring and contemporary, yet made with all the care of a luxury product?
The Stork Bag Founder Ericka Perry on Shipping Mom-to-be Gifts to Your Door
Pregnancy: it’s arguably one of the most transformative periods of a woman’s life, a time of anticipation and joy at the profound change that is about to occur.
But the months before the stork drops that gorgeous creature into your life can also be a time of anxiety – What can I eat? What products are safe? With so much to do, can I make time to pamper myself?
Beardbrand’s Eric Bandholz on Changing How Society Views Beards
Eric Bandholz likes to think of beard styles as a family tree.
“It comes down to three categories,” he says. ”You’ve got your full beard, you’ve got your partial beard, and you’ve got your mustache.”
Eric, sporting an impeccably groomed, Rasputin-style beard, goes on to explain in surprising detail the subsections of each of these categories of beard: stubble beard, corporate beard, full beard, goatee, the “whaler” – the list goes on.