Before the Business

Recorded December 2021

Greg Fishell is an outdoor enthusiast and owner of Fishell Paddles, North America’s premier supplier of handcrafted wood canoe paddles. 

Greg grew up in a canoe tripping family and spent much of his life on the water and working at summer camps as a guide. It was during his camp years in Ontario and through his father John that he developed a close relationship with master paddle maker, Ray Kettlewell. 

In the fall of 2013, Ray announced his retirement from paddle making to focus on building cedar strip canoes. Greg got in touch with Ray, and came to an agreement to take over his time-honoured designs, templates, and equipment. A short four months later, Fishell Paddles was launched. Working alongside Ray, Greg quickly mastered the trade by drawing on his wisdom and knowledge.

Recorded November, 2021

Emily McInnes launched EYE BUY ART in 2009 because she wanted to help individual collectors and trade professionals discover and connect with contemporary art.

EYE BUY ART is constantly experimenting with innovative strategies that enhance their digital presence, alongside projects that take place in the physical world. These projects include international art fairs, pop-ups, strategic partnerships, and temporary public exhibitions that give profile and context to the artists they work with in an otherwise crowded space. 

Today, the business provides two distinct services. They curate site-specific contemporary art projects for corporate partners and offer eyebuyart.com, an e-commerce platform targetting individual collectors.

Recorded November, 2021

Rebekka Hutton has a passion for establishing deeper connections between local farmers and consumers. In 2012, she launched Alchemy Pickle Company and since then has been making high-quality fermented products available to discerning customers.

All of her pickles, condiments and beverages are hand-crafted and traditionally-made. They contain only the freshest organic ingredients and sea-salt: no vinegar added. This creates nutrient dense, living foods with complex flavours and bio-available nutrients.

Recorded November, 2021

To Lisa Ridout, jewellery is a metaphor for the way everything in life is connected. Movement, flow, structure, tension, shape, colour and texture are all facets of a person's life. Lisa expresses these elements in jewellery that she designs and makes, by hand.

Lisa manipulates precious metal in wire form. Through a combination of adapted historical patterns and unique new designs, she creates custom pieces that stand the test of time.

Recorded October, 2021

Origin Handcrafted was founded by Marc Liss and Kayla Penelton on two humble ideas. First, people should love the things they own. Second, the things they own should be built to last.

This is the driving vision behind Origin Handcrafted Goods. Every item that leaves their shop — whether a piece of custom jewellery or a handcrafted kitchen knife — is made with care and attention. Properly maintained, these are objects that you can use every day and share with the next generation.

Recorded October, 2021

It would be easy to dismiss Adoniaa Beauty as just another cosmetics company. Even then, the work of founder Adedoyin Omotara would be impressive. She is the founder of Adoniaa Beauty and the leader of the “Unmask Your Beauty” movement.

”Adoniaa” is the Greek word meaning “beautiful woman”. Adedoyin’s vision and mission: to help women connect to their individual beauty and empower them at every stage of their lives.

Recorded September, 2021

In 1991, Richard Godin and Peter Wearing started talking, literally around the water cooler. Richard had recently been to his first wine tasting and Peter had visited wineries while travelling in Australia.

For some reason, they decided it would be a good idea to start a business as a wine importer with the sole intention of writing off travel expenses. So they did. Thirty years later, Small Winemakers Collection works with over 1,000 restaurants and 5,000 private customers.