Cottage Toys Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony For New Location

The Rork family has dug deep with a groundbreaking ceremony of a new Cottage Toys location in Lakefield at a media conference on Monday.

(left to right) Andrew, Donna and Ethan Rork at the groundbreaking ceremony. Donna opened the sporting goods store in 1989. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Current and former staff, construction workers and community members attended the ceremony where the owner Donna Rork announced the details of the new building for the aquatic sporting goods store.

Four Points Construction will build the new location and is projected to be completed on May 1 next year. The store will be open all season compared to its Lakefield location — with others in Peterborough and Stoney Lake — which is seasonal.

"It's a dream that I've had for a long time and it's nice to see it come to fruition,” said Rork. “When I woke up this morning and realized this was happening, I was very emotional. I've worked at this a long time, I've pushed, pulled, dragged myself through lots of troubled times in business as everyone does and to get to this point feels really good.”

Additionally, the new location will feature air conditioning/heating, greater storefront space, better outdoor display, a storage basement, higher ceilings, more parking, a cleaner shopping experience and a more technological adaptation to the business according to Rork.

“There are all kinds of new opportunities to really customize the experience with laptops,” said Rork. “You can walk around with a customer and build an order. You can do that on a tablet, walk out the door and we deliver it to their cottage.”

The building will be located behind the Lakefield Restaurant on 37 Concession St. It is the same location where the business started in 1989.

The location is ideal for the store since it is at the heart of cottage country, near the marina and the area has a lot of traffic according to Rork.

A regular customer had spray painted the golden shovel and left it for the business for the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The former windsurfing instructor noted that with the pandemic weakening and restrictions becoming looser that people are eager to go cottaging more often while purchasing recreational goods as part of the getaway.

“There's been so much increase in cottage purchases, boat sales are through the roof and that's an obvious sign that people are going to continue (after) skiing, tubing, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and all the fun stuff that we do,” she said.

The pandemic dealt a crushing blow to the business as there were two months of zero income when COVID-19 forced the country into lockdown.

"I cancelled all my orders. I don't know what's going to happen, I'm running out of money and it was really scary," explained Rork. "I was really low on cash because you've gone a whole winter with no-to-little cash flow."

The business saw some of the best sales ever beginning in May last year when they reopened two months after the initial lockdown. Cottage Toys was so successful that it became troubling to manage the surge of orders at several points.

“It was quite overwhelming, we had such a hard time managing the volume and it's all coming in at once,” said Rork. “We’re really grateful for the growth for our business.”

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Manitoulin Transport, Gauvreau CPA, Economic Development and Leadercast

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition… 

Manitoulin Transport recently announced an expansion with the opening of a new terminal here in Peterborough. Located at 1900 Technology Dr., the Peterborough terminal is a 10,000 square foot facility, with 10 dock doors and an outdoor ramp, increasing their operating capacity by more than 30% and requiring additional staff.

Added benefits include increased shipping capabilities, improved shipment handling and a safe and efficient work environment. Manitoulin currently operates 82 terminals across Canada. Manitoulintransport.com

Bob Gauvreau’s company Gauvreau CPA already offers a number of accounting, bookkeeping and business advice services. The team includes business financing, human resource and marketing experts.

You can now add law to the list. Gauvreau announced last week that, effective Sept. 1st, he will be offering professional legal services for business owners including real estate purchases and sales, incorporations, corporate restructures, estate planning and wills, purchase and sale agreements, employee and vendor contracts and more. The move also allows the firm to offer private mortgages. Details at gauvreaucpa.ca

Congratulations to the six local entrepreneurs involved in this year’s Starter Company program from Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development.

Chris Carvalho: East City Knife Sharpening, Emily Nigro: Dead End Lures, Kelsey Watts: Worthy Truth Wellness Yoga, Lucas Graham: Countdown Creative, an eCommerce agency, Suzanne Schmidt: Suzanne’s Hot Stuff, hot sauces, pepper jellies, jerk marinade, and more, Tuncay Alkan & Laura Wilson: MEZE – a vegan deli and café serving traditional Turkish food and drink.

If you are looking for some free Leadership training, the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is presenting Leadercast.

Working like a book club, you have the weekend to watch a half-hour video featuring a world-class leadership speaker and then join LeaderChat the following Tuesday afternoon on a Chamber-hosted Zoom call. Details are at peterboroughchamber.ca

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Six Local Small Businesses Awarded $30,000 in Funding

Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development awarded 6 local entrepreneurs $5000 each in funding to further support sustainable business growth.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough & The Kawarthas Economic Development

This funding was provided by the Government of Ontario’s Starter Company Plus program.

11 businesses successfully completed the five-week online business training course offered by the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre.

The following 6 businesses were awarded funding based on the strength of their business plan and pitch:

• Chris Carvalho: East City Knife Sharpening – knife sharpening for all types of knives with 24-hour turnaround service

• Emily Nigro: Dead End Lures – a family-owned eco-friendly fishing lure company

• Kelsey Watts: Worthy Truth Wellness – mindful movement yoga classes offering a kind space of compassion and non-judgmental awareness

• Lucas Graham: Countdown Creative – a full-service E-Commerce agency that helps small businesses start selling online

• Suzanne Schmidt: Suzanne’s Hot Stuff – hand-crafted, small-batch gluten-free hot sauces, pepper jellies, jerk marinade, mango salsa and more

• Tuncay Alkan & Laura Wilson: MEZE – a vegan deli and café serving traditional Turkish food and drink

“This Starter Company Plus class was a group of enthusiastic entrepreneurs. From start-ups to early-stage businesses, this group is representative of the diverse and thriving small business community within the City and County of Peterborough,” said Entrepreneurship Officer Hillary Manion, who oversees the program for Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development. “These entrepreneurs have all created products and services that fill a need within the community. I look forward to watching their businesses grow and succeed.”

Since its launch in 2017, the Starter Company Plus program through the Business Advisory Centre has assisted over 175 local entrepreneurs and over 140 small businesses.

The Starter Company Plus program is designed to provide business training for entrepreneurs from aspiring to experienced, aged 18 and over in the City and County of Peterborough who are launching a business or expanding an existing business.

The next intake of the Starter Company Plus Program will be open from September 1st – 27th, 2021. Eligibility criteria and upcoming workshop dates can be found here.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Love Your Sole Foot Care, Taylor Reach Group, Y Lofts and Peterborough Chamber

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition… 

Jessica Harley has been a registered practical nurse for seven years and after getting additional certification in advanced and diabetic foot care, recently launched her own mobile foot care business.

Love Your Sole Foot Care will provide in-home foot care service anywhere in Peterborough County and the City of Kawartha Lakes. For a variety of advanced foot care services, you’ll find Love Your Sole Foot Care on Facebook or Instagram or call 705-768-6633.

The Taylor Reach Group specializes in call center, contact center and the customer experience. Owner Colin Taylor and his team of industry veterans offer a strategic assessment or audit, technology acquisition, interim management, a customer experience snapshot and more. If you want to up your customer call or contact game, check out thetaylorreachgroup.com.

Atria is now booking suites in their Y Lofts building at the corner of George and Murray. Atria has a long history of this type of development and they’ve done an amazing job of retaining many of the key architectural features of the former YMCA building while creating a stylish new space for their condo-style rental suites.

Amenities include a large courtyard, a gym, a party or event space, a rooftop patio, five EV charging stations, bike lockers and more. Check it out at y-lofts.com.

Congratulations to the finalists for the annual Peterborough Chamber Business Excellence Awards and the Kawartha Chamber annual Awards of Excellence.

The Chambers asked the community to rally behind our businesses this year and both received a record number of entries. The Peterborough Chambers virtual event will be held on Oct. 20. Details are at peterboroughchamber.ca The Kawartha Chamber event goes on Oct. 28 with details to follow at kawarthachamber.ca.

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Finalists Announced for 2021 Peterborough Business Excellence Awards

The Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce has released the finalists for the 18th annual Peterborough Business Excellence Awards on Wednesday.

President and CEO of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Stu Harrison delivers his Business Beat with StoosNews every Monday on PTBOCanada. Screenshot.

Businesses and people in over 20 categories will be honoured and recognized throughout Peterborough county for demonstrating excellence.

Up to three nominees are chosen for each category.

The award ceremony will be done virtually for a second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Oct. 20.

The following are the 2021 Business Excellence Awards finalists (listed alphabetically):

SKILLED TRADES (sponsored by Charlotte Products Ltd.)

• Cardinal Plumbing & Electric

• Goodwin Creations

• Kawartha Lakes Construction

 

Tourism

• The Canadian Canoe Museum

• Escape Maze Incorporated

• Lang Pioneer Village Museum

 

Hospitality

• Black Honey desserts coffee catering

• Haven Brewing Company

• Jesse’s Tap & Grill

 

Micro Business — Fewer than 5 employees

• Accountability Financial

• CMD Technology Solutions Corp

• Jason McIntosh Auctions

 

Retail

• Avant-Garden Shop

• Watson & Lou

• Wild Rock

 

Professional Services

• Century 21 United Realty Inc.

• Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory

• Pinchin Ltd.

 

Customer First

• Antoinette Bridal Boutique

• Griffin’s Greenhouses

• Morello’s Your Independent Grocer

 

Local Focus

• Lang Pioneer Village Museum

• Living Local

• RMS Events — LIVE! at the Barn

 

Innovation/Research and Development

• Noblegen

• OptiSolve Ltd.

• PKA SoftTouch Corp.

 

Commercial Development or Renovation

• Cambium

• Central Smith

• The Little Building Company

 

Entrepreneurial Spirit

• acorn30

• Emily Mae’s Cookies

• Social Kat Media

 

Marketing and Promotion

• acorn30

• Central Smith

• Peterborough Public Health

 

Green Initiatives

• Green Street

• Lockside Trading Company

• Trent University — Forensic Crime Scene Facility

 

Health and Wellness

• Canadian Family Health Counselling

• Euphoria Wellness Spa

• Peterborough Public Health

Not For Profit

• New Canadians Centre

• Peterborough Humane Society

• YMCA of Central East Ontario

 

Employer of the Year

• Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory

• Pinchin Ltd.

• Trent University

 

Businesswoman of the Year — Entrepreneur

• Brenda Ibey — Avant-Garden Shop

• Carlye Mongraw — Shaw Computer Systems Inc.

• Christine Teixeira — Accountability Financial

 

Businesswoman of the Year — Organization

• Julia Anderson — Canadian Partnership for Women & Children’s Health

• Joëlle Favreau — YWCA Peterborough Haliburton / Nourish Project

• Gail Moorhouse — Community Futures Peterborough

 

Peterborough County Farm Family of the Year

• The Traynor Family (Traynor Farms)

4-Under-40 Profiles in memory of Kathy Windrem

• Jessica Dalliday

• Faith Dickinson

• Joon Kim

• Lyle Saunders

 

Business Student Leadership Prizes

• Sarah Moore (Fleming College)

• Mohamad Ellabban (Trent University)

New Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year

Congratulations to this year’s recipient!

• Rosie Salcido-Schmidt (Agave Designs, Faces by 2)

Business Citizen of the Year

• Recipient to be announced at the awards ceremony on Oct. 20

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Pizza Bodega, White Bear Standing Creative, Lady Mack's Love Shack and Showplace Performance Theatre

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition… 

Sean Crooks recently fired up the ovens at Pizza Bodega. Located to the side of Spanky’s bar on Hunter Street in Peterborough, Sean brings 20 years of chef experience to his new business. Sean specializes in a New York-style pizza, which is a larger pie, with a thin crust.

There are lots of creative menu options with local ingredients in either a red or white sauce. Open Tuesday through Saturday, check it out at pizzabodega.ca or on social media.

Sherry Crawford was given the name White Bear Standing during an indigenous shake tent ceremony many years ago. Her new business, White Bear Standing Creative, pays tribute to her name and her Algonquin heritage. Sherry is offering an indigenous art experience, a series of educational workshops, and a clothing and accessories line. Details are at whitebearstandingcreative.ca.

Carissa McIntyre is an erotica author, public speaker, professional life coach, workshop facilitator and sex ed teacher. Also known as Lady Mack, Carisa has just launched Lady Mack’s Love Shack, an online adult boutique selling Carissa’s novels, workshops, games and erotica toys. Carissa’s own story is very inspiring, escaping a toxic relationship and realizing her dream of becoming a novelist and an entrepreneur. Check it out at ladymackxo.com.

Showplace Performance Centre has obviously been dark due to the pandemic but they are taking advantage of the unscheduled downtime by carrying out an extensive renovation of the space. Called ACT II, the renovation includes a complete floor replacement, new aisle lighting, a new seat configuration to make the theatre safer and more accessible and the replacement of all the seats! The fancy new seats will not only have drink holders, but could also feature your name, or the name of someone that you’d like to honour. To find out how you can support ACT II, visit showplace.org

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Local Indigenous Business Owner Semi-Finalist in Pow Wow Pitch

Dominique O'Bonsawin, owner of cedarlilie a beadwork and craft supply shop, is a semi-finalist in the Pow Wow Pitch. Pow Wow Pitch is a a grassroots community of Indigenous entrepreneurs across Turtle Island.

Dominique O’Bonsawin and her dog Cedar. Photo courtesy of Dominique O’Bonsawin

O'Bonsawin is of both French-Canadian and Abenaki heritage and started learning beadwork about five years ago while attending university in Ottawa.

“It was an important part of me reconnecting to my community and the larger Indigenous community in Canada,” she said.

As she gained interest in the craft she began to notice a lack of Indigenous owned bead stores in the country. She began to buy beads in bulk for her own use and selling any extras she had.

“I started running out of beads and realized this was a market I could tap into,” she said. “Before I knew it I had to make my own website.”

O'Bonsawin has now been selling beads and craft supplies for about a year and a half.

An example of Dominique O’Bonsawin’s beading. These pieces were completed along with her mother and sister. Photo courtesy of Dominique O’Bonsawin.

The Pow Wow Pitch competition is for Indigenous entrepreneurs across North America. It shines a light on vendors, artists, business builders and innovators from all backgrounds and industries, whether just starting or looking to grow to the next level.

This year, more than 1,500 Indigenous entrepreneurs pitched their businesses online for a chance to win cash prizes ranging from $500 to $25,000.

O'Bonsawin was one of those entrepreneurs and was surprised to find that she was chosen as a semi-finalist.

“I had a few people reach out to me and tell me to apply, but I didn’t think I was there yet. I’m still kind of figuring out this whole thing,” she said.

“All we had to do was submit a one minute video of what we would do with the money if we were to win,” she said. “It caught and I thought ‘okay this is for real now’.”

Of the over 1600 entries there are 156 semi-finalists who now must pitch their business plan live to a board of panelists.

O'Bonsawin is also eligible to win the peoples choice award, which would send her straight to the finals. The peoples choice award is based on the amount of votes a contestant receives, anyone is welcome to participate in voting.

More beadwork by Dominique O’Bonsawin.

O'Bonsawin’s pitch can be viewed here on September 22, 2021.

If she wins the Pow Wow Pitch competition she plans to expand her business and while she plans on doing so anyways, winning this competition would allow her to do it sooner.

Through beading O'Bonsawin has had the opportunity to connect with a new community of people.

“I didn’t grow up knowing much about my roots until I became a young adult and started doing that work myself, and I’m still learning. It’s an ongoing journey of reconnection,” she said.

O'Bonsawin hopes that people realize that beadwork is about building a community, and anyone can do it.

“I’ve met a lot of people who are in the exact position as I am. They’re doing their best to learn their language and know the people. It’s so beautiful to meet people that are going through the same thing you are and i think its even more beautiful that we can do that through beadwork.”

To view all the semi-finalists in the Pow Wow Pitch click here.

To vote for a winner in the peoples choice award fill out this online form.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Prana Wellness Studio, Peppers Pet Food and Supplies, Fork in the Road and A1 Lighting

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition… 

Lil Miss Perfect Services is rebranding to Prana Wellness Studio. Operating out of Bloom Health at 727 Lansdowne Street, owner Lyndele Gauci offers restorative, foundational and gentle flow yoga, Reiki treatments and weekly home-cooked meals. For details and to book an appointment, look for Prana Wellness Studio on Facebook and Instagram.

Peppers Pet Food & Supplies recently opened at 24 Front St W. Hastings. Owner Jason McGill is quite the entrepreneur, owning McGillicafey's Pub & Eatery, Banjos Grill, Studio3A and working on opening "Baker's & Beans" Bakery and "THE Market Place", all in Hastings.

Peppers Pet Food & Supplies carries pet foods in kibble, semi-moist, raw, freeze-dried, canned and tetra packs. They also offer lots of toys, accessories, litter, clothing and more for dogs, cats, fish and small animals. Open Monday to Saturday, check out Peppers Pet Food and Supplies on Facebook.

Fork in the Road Country Market is a great new store, located at 2989 Lakefield Road, across from Paris Marine next to Overstock Liquidation. Owners Ozzy and Dawn Duncan offer fresh baked goods, beautiful fruits and vegetables, one-of-a-kind goods, local sauces, spreads, jams and lots more.

There are lots of local products to choose from, everything from Doo Doo’s Butter Tarts to the famous SKH Feta dips. They can make up a charcuterie board for you and will be opening their own onsite food truck soon. Stop in or look for forkintheroadcountrymarket.com or find them on Facebook or Instagram.

Harry Friedrich emigrated to Canada from Germany in 1975 and established a very successful electrical contracting company. Harry is now capitalizing on his wealth of knowledge and extensive lighting experience with the creation of A1 Lighting.

After a lighting audit, A1 will produce an engineering report that provides a detailed analysis of your current lighting system and the savings that you will realize by retrofitting to LED technologies. Details are at a1lighting.net.

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Local Entrepreneur Receives Top 10 Honours From International Magazine

Robert Gauvreau is an author, accountant, public speaker and now can add a top 10 disrupting entrepreneur to that list last week Thursday.

Robert Gauvreau is a graduate of Holy Cross Secondary School and Trent University. Photo Courtesy of Gauvreau CPA.

Disruptors Magazine, an information magazine for successful leaders, executives, investors and entrepreneurs, listed Gauvreau in their top 10 list in the world in no particular order.

“A disruptor is really somebody who does not accept the status quo,” explained Gauvreau. “It’s just somebody is not willing to accept the way things are and wants to change how things are done.”

Gauvreau shares the top 10 list with other entrepreneurs spanning across the world in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Photo Courtesy of Gauvreau CPA.

Gauvreau, owner of accounting firm Gauvreau & Associates Chartered Professional Accountants — also known as Gauvreau CPA — says he has was honoured to be recognized but believes the bar on his business has been set even higher.

“It’s almost like there’s extra responsibility now,” explained Gauvreau. When you’re being named as being a disruptor in your industry, now there’s this new responsibility to really enhance some of those changes and take things to the next level.”

Gauvreau was the only Canadian recognized as part of the top 10 disruptors list. Photo Courtesy of Gauvreau CPA.

Several disruptions that Gauvreau has done to make the list are public speaking including virtual summits to help entrepreneurs, author books achieving financial freedom, building a law firm and host online courses as some examples.

Gauvreau centres his business around community, financial and entrepreneurial development with his business.

“We’ve got three words outside our wall outside of the elevator: people, passion and integrity,” explained Gauvreau. “Let’s continue to support each other and collaborate.”

Gauvreau CPA plans to go from 35 to 50 employees by January of next year. The business will build a law firm starting in September.

“Peterborough is a great community but together collaboratively, we continue to build an even greater place and that’s exciting,” said Gauvreau.

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