Margaret McEachern emphasizes the importance of keeping art programs in schools, youth entrepreneurship, and building Canada into a creative nation.  “It’s really important to learn those [art and design] skills. In addition to that, add into a school curriculum, classes on establishing and running a business. We can’t, as a country, rely on big business to provide us our jobs. It doesn't happen anymore.”  Margaret McEachern is a crafty ‘artrepreneur’ who has been knitting and weaving luxurious merino wool sweaters and accessories from her retail store, Knit Pickers on Canada’s far East Coast. This passionate entrepreneur has also been commissioned by the Canadian Pavilion at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Centre to design and knit a line of maple leaf sweaters and accessories and has served on numerous boards and committees, including the PEI Cultural Sector Council as Vice-Chair and on the Marketing Committee of the Central Coastal Tourism Partnership.  In this week’s #StartupPodcast, Rivers and Margaret dive deep into the world of retail, as Margaret talks about starting up a brick-and-mortar location, the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship on Canada’s east coast, and finding and securing working partnerships that provide the necessary building blocks to expand an already successful business.

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