The Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) announces three new Initiatives to Promote the Sustainability of our Local Economy - Salt Spring Island’s Community Economic Commission (CEDC) is announcing three new initiatives to help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Piloting in mid-2020 will be the development of a commercial distribution and export hub providing local food and beverage producers, artisans and craftspeople, along with health and wellness fabricators, the opportunity to share the cost of services and/or resources needed to grow and sustain their operations. Through the initiative local producers will have access to dedicated marketing and sales agents; shared labour force resources, and a value chain designed to facilitate more efficient production of supplies. The second initiative is the planning of an Innovation Centre for Rural Sustainability to help foster an environment appropriate for testing and scaling innovative green business soluti…

Pod Contemporary Gallery: Selling Contemporary Art and Artful Pieces - At Pod, owner Helen Mears offers an opportunity to take in contemporary art and boutique style shopping at the same time. How do you combine your passion for art and convert that into something you do for a living? I remember being in my early twenties and I traveled to Seattle for numerous weekends away and noticed how a lot of hotels and restaurants had original art displayed.It wasn't very prevalent in Vancouver and decided that I wanted to incorporate into my business endeavor. At the time, in East Vancouver, where my shop Mecca was located, there were many struggling artists with not many options to exhibit. I had a beautiful old storefront with 12 foot + ceilings. Art enhanced the space. I continued to incorporate it into my future businesses:Cafe Talia and Pod contemporary. I watch as people react, connect with and observe the work I exhibit. It's an exciting element of my work. As a woman en…

Deirdre Rowland with the Community EcDev Commission shares their profile of InDro Robotics who specializes in the manufacture, distribution and operation of commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Their technology has been utilized in disaster planning, search and rescue missions, climate research, early detection of wildfire hazards and to provide agriculture & vegetation management. We recently caught up with local President and CEO Philip Reece. Indro Robotics - Q & A With Philip Reece, President and CEO How has InDro Robotics changed the way drones are positioned in terms of delivering services that make a difference in the world? InDro Robotics has been working on delivery of urgent care equipment from the very start. We were the first in the world to deliver and AED (heart defibrillator) back in 2014, and we have built on that success ever since, working with industry regulators, first responders and hospital to deliver urgent care items, blood and bl…

Deirdre Rowland with the Community EcDev Commission shares their profile of Rhubarb Designs: Goods That Inspire and Preserve Tradition and Art Forms - Lorraine Hamilton is known for her inspiring landscape ideas and imaginative plant combinations. How has your move from the world of natural landscapes into the world of home décor been? Well, I see everything as an extension of the outdoors so the move for me has been an easy one. I am still heavily involved in the landscape world and it is a constant frame of reference. For me the outdoors captures so many things that are intrinsic to the way we experience the world. The shop is full of goods that connect us to that and to the world beyond our doorsteps. The running criteria for the goods I carry are they must be made of natural materials, mostly made by hand, have a story, be goods that support other communities, preserve tradition, have a small footprint, be useful, celebrate good design, be original, and add inspiratio…

Kirsten Reite Architect design concepts for the proposed Vortex project at the former Fulford Inn site show mixed use commercial and accommodation ideas sited into the geography of the location.

Deirdre Rowland with the Community EcDev Commission shares their profile of Twang & Pearl: Inspired by the People & Stories Behind the Goods Curated - Jana Thomas combines her love of travel with a sincere appreciation for beauty. You’ve been a traveller and a buyer, how has your eye for curated goods expanded or changed over the years? I didn’t really set out to be either. I discovered a love for travelling as most people do - by travelling. I tend to appreciate and find beauty in experiences as much as I do in ‘things’ and travelling has opened me up to both in spades - one feeding the other. In other words, whether travelling near or far, it’s the people or community of people behind the products that really makes the beauty shine thru. So I guess as I travel more, my community expands and my eye for curation expands with it. Being a long-time Salt Spring Island-er you’ve seen many changes in the business landscape, what keeps you inspired? I can’t li…

We're starting off our Opportunity Portraits with "The Pottery Shop + Studio," a new communal pottery studio in Fulford Village,  run by three savvy potters.  So many sectors on Salt Spring are achieving great things and our island entrepreneurs are creative, innovative and award-winning. Read more below in our Q&A Portrait. The Pottery Shop + Studio - Q & A With Erin Morris, Partner What prompted you to open your new venture in Fulford? My time at my last studio was coming to an end and after looking for several months for a decent space (and not finding one) I decided to think outside the box a little and brainstorm some options. In order to grow my business I knew I needed a larger workspace to accommodate the volume of work I want to make. I also knew that I’d been working alone in my studio for many years and was really missing the richness of a shared creative space. Another reason for this venture is that I want to bring more education to the public abou…

Did you know it’s BC Shop Local Week!? I’m sure it’s no coincidence that this designated week for shopping local falls at the beginning of December. As we all prepare for the holidays, it is a great reminder to support the local businesses and creators that are here year round supporting our community in so many ways. When you shop local (all the time!) you contribute to the health and vitality of Salt Spring Island. But what does shopping local really mean? In our case, shopping local is more easily defined - Purchasing your goods and services on Salt Spring Island. I think by now, we all understand the economic impact of shopping local as there have been many campaigns around these benefits in recent years. There are additional benefits to shopping local that include but are not limited to environmental sustainability, health, supporting local artisans, creators and farmers, quality personalized service, knowing where the products are sourced etc. I find this quote sa…

Salt Spring community members gathered last night at the Harbour House hotel to celebrate business and community award nominees and award winners. The awards and dinner were organized by the Salt Spring Chamber board and staff members to celebrate the best parts of our Salt Spring community and the entrepreneurial spirit of the island. Twenty-nine awards were given out across two business and community award categories. Thank you for voting the Salt Spring Exchange your favourite Local Media Choice again this year. We're grateful for all our supporters and advertisers who help make the service of the Exchange possible. We'd like to thank all the other local media organizations on the island, The Gulf Islands Driftwood, The Fish Bowl and the Islands Marketplace who all work tirelessly to help share the news and events of our very special island community. We all benefit from their work engaging people on and off island in stories about our island. Our Local Media Choice aw…

Voting for the Community and Business Awards is Now Closed - The Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that the Salty Awards for Business and Community will be presented at a Gala Dinner on November 14th at the Harbour House Hotel at 6 pm. Online voting took place on saltspringchamber.com between October 8 and 25, and once again the number of votes was significantly greater than in the previous two years. 2840 validated ballots were cast for the Business Awards and over 2300 for the nine Community Award categories Several categories were hotly contested ‐ a dozen or fewer votes separated the top three finalists in several categories ‐ Market Vendor or Artisan, Top Green Business, both Entrepreneur categories (over and under 40), and Top Customer Service. A single vote separated the first and second place Barber, Stylist or Spa Service category and two tiny votes separated the first and second place winners among the 109 Tradespeople that were nominated. …

You might have read an article last month about a Salt Spring Island robotics company that made the first drone delivery of emergency medical supplies. The project was a partnership between Canada Post, London Drugs and InDro Robotics. InDro is one of only three companies in Canada that is approved to complete “Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight” flights in Canada and when I read of the accomplishment, I knew that it should be highlighted in the next edition of my on-going “Championing Local Business” series. So we reached out to Philip Reece, CEO of InDro Robotics. He welcomed us to his office located on Salt Spring and introduced us to his staff and technicians. InDro employs more than 20 people on the Island and in their Victoria and Vancouver offices and is leading the way in developing the technology for a variety of applications. For example, their unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are used in agriculture, supporting fire and police operations and assisting paramedics.…

Salt Spring’s Rural Business Accelerator (RBA) is providing the skills local entrepreneurs need to grow their businesses on the island. Here’s a peek at Salt Spring green entrepreneurs who recently participated in the RBA. Program lead, Holly MacDonald, believes the green services cohort could go a long way towards helping to create a green business sector here. The program, spearheaded by the Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC), helps local entrepreneurs by providing them with training and resources to accelerate their businesses and get them on the ground running. So far thirteen local businesses have taken part in the RBA with the latest cohort featuring Craft + Lifestyle products. The provincially funded program was started thanks to a grant of $72,000 distributed by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources to the CEDC to stimulate growth locally and enhance the island economy. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%…

Handmade, customized footwear has become increasingly rare over the last century, and the words that capture that craft sound foreign to some. Words like factory-made, warehouse, and disposable have taken their place. In his Salt Spring Island studio on North End Road, however, Nathan deBridge creates artisan leather footwear that is durable, elegant, artistic, and ultimately comfortable. That is why I’ve been smitten with the Soul Path Shoes sandals and moccasin-boots since I first saw them. The quality is beyond what most of us have come to expect in a boot or sandal. To me, that is where the true beauty lies—in the way a pair of sandals or boots can shift our expectations of footwear. Footwear can be made to actually fit our unique feet instead of trying to fit our feet into standardized footwear. Nathan’s journey to Soul Path Shoes all started with a trip around the world and a toolkit of leather tools in his bag. He explained: “When in Zimbabwe, I’d hope…