Brian
Scudamore
Founder/owner, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
SMALL BIZ
Rain or Shine
LOCATION
Vancouver
"Love their brand. Simple, fresh
ingredients and consistently
awesome ice cream. Also, I love
the fact that one of the founders
was a teacher at my kids'
elementary school years ago.
She left to pursue the dream of
entrepreneurship! Who doesn't
love ice cream?! Rain or shine,
makes me smile. :)"
Amélie Nguyen
Co-founder, Anh & Chi and Good
Thief
SMALL BIZ
Nooroongji Books
LOCATION
Vancouver
"There are many
neighbourhood gems in
Vancouver and one of my
favourites is Nooroongji
Books, nestled in the Net
Loft at Granville Island. As a child to
Vietnamese refugees in the 1980s,
I spent my childhood learning to
read on my own. I found myself
reading and watching a lot of fairy
tales with light-haired, gorgeous
blue- and green-eyed heroines, and
always a male hero. Later in life, a
lot later, I realized there is no one
hero and it certainly doesn't have
to be a man. The hero could be your
mom, your grandma, your teacher
or neighbour—mine were all those
things. Today, there is a growing
selection of Asian stories and
characters, with heroes of all shades
and gender; it makes me so happy.
Nooroongji Books is a multilingual
bookstore run by Jennifer Kim that
celebrates cultures and languages
from all over the world. Jennifer is
fun, spunky and a huge ambassador
for representation. We are the big
girls who wish we saw our little
selves in books and films. And today,
it's starting to happen with little
shops like hers."
Tania Yan
Founder, Olive & Piper
SMALL BIZ
Lezé the Label
LOCATION
Vancouver
"Lezé the Label is one of my favourite
small businesses! If you're not familiar,
they're a women-owned company that
creates super comfy (and effortless)
workwear from recycled materials.
I've been wearing their pieces for five
years now: they're easy and versatile,
feel great and instantly make me look
put-together. Beyond their products,
I love how genuine their team is, how
much they care about and listen to
their customers, and how they support
and elevate women through their
community fund initiative. Plus, they're
so entertaining on social!"
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