Jessica Yang / Multimedia Assistant
These entrepreneurs are adding a feminine touch to the arts and culture business industry in the city
Being a successful entrepreneur is already a difficult enough career. However, for aspiring women business owners, there can be many more obstacles and challenges due to the lack of resources and opportunities often arising due to gender inequalities.
Fortunately, there are many ways to support women and their businesses, starting with being aware of what is available in your community and purchasing their products.
These four women-owned businesses in Hamilton highlight the steel city’s arts and culture and work towards making the world a better place, one sale at a time.
studio k2
Located in downtown Hamilton on Parkdale Avenue North, studio k2 is an art gallery dedicated to supporting local artists and providing them with a place to showcase their work. They also provide multiple workshops and retreats for artists to work together, receive feedback, improve their work and make new connections.
studio k2 accepts artists of all levels, from beginners to experts, to work creatively in a collaborative and expressive environment. They even offer team-building exercises, workshops for corporations, art lessons and experiences for the public like paint nights for couples and friends.
Founded by Karen Klucowicz, a fine art painter with experience in marketing, advertising and interior design, studio k2 has allowed her to realize her vision to grow the art world while supporting fellow artists in a safe and encouraging space. If you are interested in attending a workshop or showcasing your art, this is certainly a gallery to check out!
East Bay Beads
East Bay Beads is an online store founded by Nadine Farkas and a group of women to connect people with a love for beading and allow them to collaborate on projects. They sell everything from tote bags and buttons to materials for creating beaded art like beads and tools.
East Bay Beads’ vision is to create high-quality, sustainable, locally sourced beads for people and promote their art. Their work is an example of craftivism, a form of activism, where environmentalism, solidarity and feminism blend to focus on crafts to create social empowerment, mindfulness, expression and negotiation for people.
If you’re looking for a new hobby, beads for jewelry or art or a way to support craftivism and the company’s vision, East Bay Beads’ products are what you need.
Studio Objective
Located in southern Burlington and on the border of Hamilton on Mountain Grove Avenue, Studio Objective is founded by Isabelle Ford-Roy and Cassandra Giansante. The company aims to support women’s equality and safety while also working to improve the environment. Five per cent of their profit goes towards women’s and environmental charities in their initiative, such as Greenpeace Canada and Women for Women International, to help make the world a better place.
Ford-Roy was previously interested in geology before discovering graphic design in high school. She is now the lead graphic designer, working on the company’s social media and specializing in eco branding, print and packaging. Giansante was a former film school student, dropping out to become the lead web designer and use her passion to rebrand clients’ websites and images.
As a web design company helping clients rebrand and transform their image, Studio Objective covers everything from brand identity to designing web pages. They even go beyond technology and brand design for packaging, print and photography. If you’re looking to rebrand your company, or just create an online presence with eye-catching and clean designs, this company is what you’re looking for.
Darling Donuts
Darling Donuts is a small online baking business selling gourmet donuts with vegan and gluten-free options tailored to individual preferences. The donuts are freshly baked on the weekends and are available in the form of donut towers or with customizable messages or images for any occasion.
Darling Donuts was founded by Alyssa Lancia after a life-long passion for baking. When she developed a gluten and dairy intolerance in university, Lancia turned her focus to vegan and gluten-free baking treats. Darling Donuts began as a fun way for Lancia to express her passion for baking and it grew into the business it is now. If you’re interested in pre-ordering a tasty treat made exactly the way you like it, Darling Donuts is the bakery for you.
Women-owned businesses deserve to be recognized for their efforts as well as what they do for their community and women's empowerment in entrepreneurship. These small businesses are a few examples of projects happening around the city for women and the community by women.
By: Andrew Mrozowski
Tucked away on Barton Street East are a ton of local Hamilton shops with a lot to offer. On Barton Street East and Emerald Street North, a coffee shop is quickly approaching its one-year anniversary. Aptly named Emerald Coffee Co, the space creates a larger than life quality that has been ten years in the making.
Owner Phil Green grew up in Montreal. For the past ten years, Green worked in the automotive industry and lived in the United States, but he yearned for change. Leaving his job with thoughts of opening a coffee shop at the back of his head, Green made the choice to move back to Canada and live in Hamilton.
“I was walking my dog and saw that this place had a lot of potential. The neighbourhood was filled with young families, but they had to walk 15 minutes to get a coffee…A coffees hop is the hub of a neighbourhood and I wanted to create that hub here,” said Green.
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In the summer of 2017, Green embarked out into Hamilton to try and find a place. Setting up home base on Barton Street East, the owner knew that he was taking a chance with this spot.
“I took a risk and opened in a location where most people wouldn’t have but once the idea was in my head, I wanted Barton Street. We wouldn’t have been the same if we opened somewhere else,” said Green.
The doors to Emerald Coffee Co. were officially set to open in February 2018 but had to be delayed as the building was not up to code. Green eventually opened a month later on March 31, 2018 and received an unanticipated warm welcome.
“It’s been great! The neighbourhood has been amazing, I’ve met amazing people, and the coffee scene in Hamilton is friendly. It doesn’t feel like competition here, it feels like we are all friends. There is a real sense of community,” said Green.
Emerald Coffee Co. is a unique coffee shop as everything they use is natural. Green makes his own vanilla syrup using vanilla beans, a rose syrup from dried rose petals, and goes to the United States to get hazelnut milk.
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With a wide range of espresso-based beverages such as lattes, and americanos, Green also has kombucha and cold-brew on tap all year around. Emerald Coffee Co. also gets in a different roasts of coffee every two weeks to keep things fresh. A fan-favourite of Emerald is their hazelnut latte made with real hazelnut milk instead of using traditional hazelnut syrup.
“We try to make everything as genuine as possible,” said Green.
About once a month, Green also develops a special seasonal drink. Bringing back a fan-favourite, the rose latte will be featured for the shop’s one-year anniversary along with one-dollar coffee throughout the last weekend of March.
Aside from coffee drinks, the shop also has sandwiches and salads for customers to enjoy as well as sweets from local Hamilton bakeries such as Donut Monster.
Currently, Green is trying to develop a way to bring a nightlife crowd to Barton Street East.
“It’s a really gay-friendly neighbourhood with a lot of the owners being queer, and we are welcoming to everyone. Hopefully in the near future, I’ll have some coffee cocktails to serve in the evening because we really need a nighttime crowd in the neighbourhood,” explained Green.
Isolated from the hustle and bustle of the downtown core, Emerald Coffee Co. is a great place to study or enjoy a great beverage with friends in a warm and inviting atmosphere amongst a community that is working together to show more of what Barton Street East has to offer.
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