2020 Summer Company Launch: 5 Local Youth Launch New Startups
[PETERBOROUGH, ON]: Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development’s Business Advisory Centre is pleased to support the creation of 5 new student-owned and operated summer businesses in Peterborough & the Kawarthas through the Government of Ontario’s Summer Company program. These businesses, listed below, will be connected with training, mentorship and up to $3000 in funding through the program.
Andréanna Sullivan, Cozy Cups Pottery
Envision yourself in a room with bad lighting, the air is stale, and the walls are bland. Imagine how this space is impacting your mood. Now, envision a well-lit space, with plants purifying the air, and your favourite piece of pottery is on the table. How did your mood change? Personally, I am feeling much more uplifted in the second scenario!
The spaces we exist in have important implications on our mood. When we choose to be intentional about the way we arrange our environments, we begin to gain a little control over how we respond to the situations we encounter!
I am Andréanna Sullivan, owner of Cozy Cups Pottery. I love to create and want to spread joy through my art. If you are like me and that second scenario resonates with you, then my pottery is a great way to get started in the process of forming aesthetically pleasing spaces that work for you!
My products include mugs, saucers, spoons, and plant pots and trays! I also do commissions, so essentially everything! Why choose me you may ask? Because, I make beautiful, unique pieces, inspired by the nature that I am surrounded by!
I work from my home studio in Ennismore ON, where I transform nondescript blobs of clay into functional art; doing everything from throwing to trimming, firing and glazing, and firing again. If you are interested in viewing my products or understanding the pottery process, you can follow me on one or all of my social media platforms, where you will find a gallery of my works and descriptions of how they came to be! Contact me via email, phone, on my website, or message me through any of my social media pages: facebook, instagram, and youtube. My handle is @cozycupspottery. Come take a look!
Breah Beazer-Clarke, Constellation Crafts
My name is Breah Beazer and I am the founder of Constellation Crafts. I make unique macramé pieces that enrich my clients living spaces. My aim is to improve your life through art and sustainability. Each piece I create in my studio is carefully handcrafted and instilled with the everyday emotions and intentions we all carry. Macramé is a crafting technique that uses knotting to produce textiles. This style has existed throughout history as a way to express imagination and artistry. From grand wall hangings and chandeliers to plant hangers and reusable produce bags, every knot tells a story. My pieces are ornamental and functional by design, with romantic, sentimental appeal which nourishes the mind. You can get in touch with me directly through email, browse my Etsy shop, website, or check out my social media to see what I’m creating:
Email: constellation.crafts.breah@gmail.com
Etsy: ConstellationCraftON Instagram: @ConstellationCraftsCo
Gabriel Dalgarno, OG Jigs
Have you found yourself disgusted by the amount of plastic waste used to package your beloved fishing lures in our conservation-oriented sport? Have you ordered expensive lures online only to find out they were cheap garbage unworthy of your secret fishing hole? My name is Gabriel Dalgarno and here at OG Jigs my goal is to aid you in catching fish without the guilt of stocking our landfills. My beautiful, hand tied marabou jigs are made of high quality materials to ensure durability and fish enticing action and have proven themselves to be amazing fish catchers, even on the toughest of days. Just give your rod a twitch and watch that lure do the jig, like an OG. Coming soon to Etsy, for business inquiries contact: OGJigs@gmail.com. Instagram: @og.jigs.
Mary Wootton, MJ’s Paper Shop
Do you journal? Like to plan your day? Want to personalize your binders, notebooks or even your water bottle? Or do you need a funny card for your aunts’ birthday? Then shop at MJ’s Paper Shop! I offer a variety of stickers, cards calendars, journal inserts and other stationery items. Journaling is a fun and therapeutic activity, but it can take a lot of time. My high-quality stickers can help you create the same beautiful spreads while helping you save time. Is there something specific you are looking for? Fill out the customizing form on my website and I will create it for you. Want to learn more? Checkout my website mjspapershop.ca, you can fill out the contact form and sign up for email updates. Or you can email me directly at marywootton@mjapapershop.ca. Want to see my products in action? Check me out on Instagram @mjs.desk.
Shane Willis, Eco-Care
Running one regular gas lawn mower for one hour has the same environmental impact as driving a new car for 550 kilometers. That’s the same as driving all the way from Toronto to Montreal (over 5 hours of driving!) and some gas lawn mowers are able to put that pollution out in just one hour of running.
My name is Shane Willis, I’m a business student at Trent specializing in ethics and sustainability. Sustainability has been becoming increasingly important and has been gaining traction every year, but one of the few industries that are left to be changed is the property maintenance industry. This industry still relies primarily upon traditional gas engine equipment. My solution to this is simple – stop using gas engines. I am proud to be offering Eco-Care; an all electric, zero-emission, environmentally friendly property maintenance company. I use only electric tools, partnering with green energy companies to ensure what is used comes from sustainable sources, with the long-term goal of becoming completely off-grid. Technology now makes it feasible to run electric tools at the same performance level as traditional gas engines, so electric mowers are fully capable of competing with, and often out-performing gas equivalents. To show the effects of switching over to electric, I keep records of the emissions saved at each property. With these records, each homeowner and business will receive a certificate summarizing how many CO2 emissions they have saved throughout the year. Pricing starts as low as $35/visit. You can reach me by call or text at 289-489-9293, and soon I will be online at ecocarelawncare.ca. A greener tomorrow starts today!
This year’s group of businesses are exceptional, given the difficult situation we find ourselves in. The level of creativity and ingenuity from these businesses showcase what’s possible to be done with a summer business, even during a pandemic.
Suzanne McCrimmon, Director of Business Development, Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development
“Despite the unprecedented circumstances through this global pandemic, we are excited to still be able to announce and kick off another season of Summer Company,” said Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development’s Director of Business Development, Suzanne McCrimmon. “This year’s group of businesses are exceptional, given the difficult situation we find ourselves in. The level of creativity and ingenuity from these businesses showcase what’s possible to be done with a summer business, even during a pandemic. This program allows enterprising, young professionals to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty as they learn the fundamentals of owning and operating a business.”
Summer Company, Ontario’s flagship youth entrepreneurship program, provides students aged 15 to 29 with the opportunity to open and operate their own business over the summer. Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre has been the proud program provider for the City and County of Peterborough since 2001.
For more information on these inspiring young entrepreneurs, please follow @PtboEcDev on Twitter and join in the conversation about what our students are up to this summer with the hashtag #SummerCompany.