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.
New stories for you
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
When Aristotle Loumis got off the airplane for his first visit to Greece, his father greeted him with a pair of sunglasses. There are 3500 islands and 365 days of sun in Greece, so the shades came in handy - until Loumis lost them two hours into his trip. He quickly realized that there was no Greek-based sunglass manufacturer. The choices were between designer look (a $350 designer pair) and cheap economy (the local convenience store rack). In the land of the sun, there was no place for affordable, handmade, mission-oriented eyewear.
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?
Stories create more action than facts ever could. They tug at our hearts & minds, wiggling into our brains like the unforgettable vehicles for change that they are.
Below, you'll find six ecommerce entrepreneurs who have walked the road you're walking. Wherever you are at in your ecommerce journey, take the next step. And then the next one. Keep doing that and we may be featuring you on Ecommerce Magazine one day!