Beth Herrild, founder of the art project subscription box company Outside the Box Creation, says creativity is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. If that’s true, then Beth’s creative muscles have got to be super-sized by now. Every month, she creates an art project for the parents and children … Continued
How do you test whether you have a great business concept? Focus groups, surveys, pilot projects? How about discovering that your friendly acquaintance and fellow designer has been mulling over the same bright idea for an interior design business? And for exactly the same length of time—six years? “It was way too serendipitous,” says Carla … Continued
Sea Change Brewing Co.’s founders have definitely experienced profound changes together. As a group of friends participating in Edmonton’s perennially booming independent music scene in the aughts, they probably wouldn’t have predicted a shared entrepreneurial future. But Ian McIntosh made a series of life-changing decisions three years ago and took his friends along for the … Continued
Most North Americans have no idea how fun it can be: a mug of mulled wine cheer, warming your hands before it warms your whole body. At a pub on a winter day? At a ski-slope? Come on! FireVines founder Ben Andrews hails originally from the UK, so he knows just how much delight the … Continued
A dish isn’t called “comfort food” for no reason. And Soul Bite Food’s flaky phyllo pastries, exotic spices, and hearty rolls provide plenty of comfort, especially to vegan eaters. But, incredibly, this company is determined to provide comfort to more than just their customers. Through the power of stuffed veggies, cabbage rolls, and mushroom and … Continued
Jack59, the Edmonton-based shampoo and conditioner bar company, started the way so many innovative businesses do. Because a smart, capable woman became determined to create a livelihood on her own terms. “I was a dental assistant for most of my life with two kids, eighteen years apart,” says Vanessa Marshall, Jack59 founder. “I was really … Continued
For plenty of kids, a bowl of their favourite cereal in the morning is exciting enough. But what happens when they get a boldly printed box—and a box of chocolate and strawberry flavoured cereal as only one of its treasures? What if this Turtle Splash™ starter kit was also packed with a handmade Glass Sipper … Continued
Nick Hepner and Annise Lorel didn’t plan it. And they never would have wished for a pandemic to be the reason their sustainable flower delivery company, Bespoke Blossoms, experienced dramatic growth. But in the spring, floral arrangements began “going through the roof,” says Nick, “because people who were separated by COVID-19 wanted to show each … Continued
Years ago, when Saul Good Gift Co. founder Saul Brown used to sell conventional gift baskets for another company, he learned something important about himself. “I couldn’t sell something I wasn’t passionate about,” he says. “And I saw these baskets as a wasteful product – using little products made to look big and fancy by … Continued
Bruno Kelle and Stella Schmidt, co-owners of the Okanagan winery Castoro de Oro, were at a winemaking conference when they discovered an unlikely solution to their problem. For six to seven years, they had been releasing their small-batch, handcrafted, 100% BC wines to hotels in half size bottles perfect for in-room dining. But the 375-millilitre … Continued