There's a new buzz these days about a community-oriented artisan shop popping up on Elizabeth Street.
Tri-City Bee Rescue was run out of Michael Barber’s home on Alice Street for nearly 11 years. It has found a new home at 349 Elizabeth St., just west of Victoria Road. It’s Tri-City Bee Rescue’s arts collective known as The Hive.
It’s opening this Sunday and hosting an outdoor market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be live music, vendors and family-friendly games.
The business will be open seven days a week from 12 to 6 p.m.
The store concept is simple. It’s a local artisan market where artists can sell their products at an affordable monthly fee. It costs $12.50 per sq/ft a month.
Last year Barber had enough hives to produce honey and make beeswax candles. In the market circuit he sold his products but was surprised about the price it cost to sell at some of the markets.
He said the table rental fee at any given market could range from $100 to $750, sometimes making it difficult to break even.
The Hive can give artists the opportunity to sell their goods without breaking the bank. This is why Barber wanted to start the shop.
There are about a dozen vendors and there will be opportunities for other vendors to rent space as they are rotated in and out.
Renovating took a couple of days. Richard Ince from Speed River Bees built the wood shelving. He will be selling his wood creations like puzzles, cutting boards, and buttons at the shop.
Ince said the shop gives talented people an opportunity to sell their creations and gain exposure.
“So you get a shelf space, and you can make it what you want. But again, it's not about making money from people. It's more about letting them build their space and their brand,” Barber said.
Artist Nicole Lalonde who runs The Holistic Goddess will be selling her products there.
She tried to sell her products through a business where it charged $175 for two months and took 30 per cent commission. She sold one product and lost money.
The store made it possible for her to meet other artists and connect with the community she lives in.
“I think I'm just really excited to see how this evolves over time and see people's reactions to it when they come in,” said Lalonde.
Barber wants to encourage the store’s artisans to set up shop at the cash register and sell items throughout the day.
The Hive is a small store “but we're really hoping to make a lot out of it,” said Barber.
To expand the space it will have an outdoor market on Sundays, weather permitting.
There are plans for The Hive to rent space from a seamstress that works above the store. Barber hopes to rent it out for workshops like beekeeping and woodworking. Artists can also run workshops about their craft like gardening, jewelry making and more.
This idea of being community oriented stems from Barber growing up in a poor neighbourhood in Toronto where everyone took care of each other.
He feels like the neighbouring Ward area is similar in the sense that people are there for each other and there are people of different income backgrounds.
Living in the neighbourhood he notices people help build each other up and the shop is a platform for people to showcase their talent.
“And as long as you know, we cover our rent and kind of just get the artists to be themselves and have a space to do that we’ll be really, really happy,” said Barber.
