Meet Michaelanne Hathaway, the owner of Stache Fabrics & Notions and one of our Associate Participants! Located at the Market at Western Fair District, Stache Fabric and Notions is a community focused quilt shop focused on high quality and fun fabrics. “We’re also focused on helping people in the community be as creative as they possibly can with the fabric,” Hathaway says. Stache Fabrics has been located in the market for the past two years, but is coming up on its ninth ann

Meet Charles Innis, the manager of Mystic Wisdom Tea and Bookshop! Located at 610 Dundas Street, Mystic Wisdom Tea and Bookshop is a one stop shop for your esoteric needs. Mystic Wisdom is actually the merging of two separate businesses; Wisdom Tea and Mystic Bookshop. The bookshop was opened in the mid to late 90s, with the tea shop opening in the early 2000s. “The shops were further apart and over the years, have moved closer together,” Innis says. “We're trying to maintain

Meet John Kudelka, one of the co-owners of Junction Climbing Centre and one of the Old East Village BIA’s Neighbourhood Partners! Located at 1030 Elias Street, this is a full service climbing gym, featuring top rope climbs, auto belays, lead climbs, bouldering, and a fitness centre! With a background in climbing and outdoor recreation, Kudelka saw that London was lacking in a proper climbing gym “Growing up in London, there's a strong perception that if it's in London, the ve

Meet LIFE*SPIN, a non-profit organization focused on helping low-income families throughout the year and one of the Old East Village BIA’s Associate Partners! LIFE*SPIN started out in 1989 as a group of sole-support mothers trying to do what they could to help alleviate poverty within the community. “They found pooling resources really helped each other get ahead,” says Meagen Ciufo, co-executive director of LIFE*SPIN. “One person had a car, they could car share. One person h