Inoki Bathhouse Who: Helen Yim Where: Toronto, ON Instagram Website ​ How would you use the $10,000 CAD fund for your business? ​ ​ See All Winners

Rise Arts Co. Qui: Shivani Sen Où: Vancouver, BC Instagram / Site Web (Anglais Seulement) Fondée en 2021 à Vancouver en Colombie-Britannique, Rise Arts Company s’efforce d’offrir un environnement d’apprentissage amusant, vivant et professionnel. Shivani s’engage à proposer des formations de renommée internationale données par des professeurs passionnés et expérimentés qui aideront les élèves de Rise Arts Co non seulement à développer continuellement leurs compétences et leur amour des arts, mais aussi à acquérir des connaissances générales et spécialisées qui leur serviront au quotidien. L’un des principaux objectifs de Rise est de fournir un espace sécuritaire, accueillant et tolérant où tous les artistes en herbe peuvent sortir de leur zone de confort et être eux-mêmes! Même si Rise se définit comme une compagnie artistique qui offre des programmes dans les arts visuels et de la scène, Shivani adore regarder tous les élèves de Rise poursuivre l’excellence en tant qu’artistes et, surtout, en tant que personnes au sein de sa communauté. Elle souhaite offrir un lieu où les artistes de tous les niveaux peuvent trouver un exutoire créatif en vue de poursuivre leurs passions artistiques. Comment avez-vous utilisé les 10 000 $ de la subvention? La subvention de 10 000 $ m’a permis de recruter des personnes exceptionnelles qui ont constitué la toute première équipe et le premier corps professoral de Rise Arts Co. Comme ces professeurs dirigent nos programmes, j’ai pu étendre mes activités à d’autres secteurs dans la vallée du Bas-Fraser. Le financement m’a également aidée à louer mon premier local, qui est devenu le premier studio Rise Arts. « L’avenir des petites entreprises au Canada est prometteur et en pleine croissance! » Voir toutes les gagnantes

Creators Grant About the project Since day one, Pier Five has striven to inspire and educate its community by sharing insightful conversations with, and the works of, its favourite designers, creators, entrepreneurs and subject matter experts. This year, we are excited to take this a step further with the launch of the Pier Five Creators Grant , a financial grant and mentorship opportunity that will be presented to an emerging creative, selected by both Pier Five and its community. To raise funds for this grant, we have collaborated with eight incredible creatives on a capsule collection of limited edition products, from reworked and handmade apparel to home goods and original art works. Before launching the collection, we will spend some time telling the stories of the eight masterminds behind the works and you can read more about them below. The collection will launch for a limited time in early July and all proceeds from the sales will go towards the financial grant which creatives (worldwide) can apply for in August (more on the applications coming soon). ​ ​ ​ Timeline We are excited to have you along for the journey as we continue to grow this incredible community of designers, artists, entrepreneurs, creators and many others around the world and hope that you can learn something new and maybe even cop something cool along the way! ​ - Jeff + Julian Meet The Designers Click on a designer to learn more. View the Lookbook Shop the Collection (Coming Soon) Apply For The Grant (Coming Soon)

June Guest Picks: Books with Post Design Collective Guest: Amanda & JP of Post Design Collective 1. Atlas of Furniture Design. 2019, Vitra Design Museum "One of the most comprehensive design books featuring notable standout pieces throughout the 20th century. Beautiful book with a plethora of information!" 2. 325 Magazine, Yearly. Ryerson Department of Architectural Science (DAS) "An amazing yearly publication that showcases the work of students from 1st year through to Master's program from Ryerson's Architectural Department. Coming from this program ourselves, we always are interested to see what is being produced and how far the program has come." 3. What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Randall Munroe "Really just a fun, light-hearted read that takes simple problems way too seriously, sometimes how we approach problems as well." 4. The Age of Collage Contemporary Collage in Modern Art Vol 2, 2016. Gestalten "An amazing collection of abstract and surrealist works, showcasing collage as an art in its most idealistic and interesting form. Goes largely alongside Amanda's Thesis work, and is on the list to purchase (but is sold out everywhere)." 5. Dieter Rams: the Complete Works, 2020? Klaus Klemp "A Collection of works from one of the most influential designers (and one of our favourites, as noted in our previous interview). Also on the list for purchase and a read. One day!" Check out all of our guest picks for June here and stay tuned to Pier Five for more stories and interviews with the coolest people around.

Apricotton Qui: Jessica Miao et Chloe Beaudoin Où: Toronto, ON Instagram / Site Web (Anglais Seulement) Établie à Toronto, Apricotton est une marque de soutiens-gorges pour adolescentes qui aide les jeunes filles à se sentir bien dans leur premier soutien-gorge. Il s’agit de la seule marque au monde à concevoir des soutiens-gorges qui s’adaptent au développement des jeunes filles alors qu’elles passent par les différentes étapes de la puberté. Cela signifie qu’elles peuvent continuer à le porter même si elles passent d’un bonnet AA à un bonnet D! L’histoire d’Apricotton a commencé lorsque Jessica a emmené sa sœur de 12 ans, Cindy, magasiner un soutien-gorge, et qu’elles n’arrivaient pas à trouver des modèles adaptés au corps de cette dernière. Cindy était intimidée par les boutiques de lingerie visant une clientèle plus mature et les vendeuses. Pire encore, les seuls modèles qui convenaient pour sa tranche d’âge étaient les plus petites tailles des soutiens-gorges pour le sport. Il faut savoir que 90 % des filles sont mal à l’aise et intimidées lorsqu’elles achètent leur premier soutien-gorge. Toutes les filles en portent un, alors pourquoi est-ce si difficile de trouver un modèle parfaitement ajusté dans une boutique spécialisée ou un grand magasin? Comment avez-vous utilisé les 10 000 $ de la subvention? Nous avons utilisé la moitié des 10 000 $ pour faire croître notre communauté grâce à la création de contenu professionnel, et l’autre moitié sert au développement de produits pour lancer notre prochaine collection de soutiens-gorges ajustables. Nous avons connu un grand succès auprès de créateurs de contenu qui appuient notre plateforme et qui nous aident à bâtir notre communauté. Notre priorité est d’ailleurs de faire connaître Apricotton aux adolescentes par le biais de cette communauté. À mesure que celle-ci grandit, il sera important d’élargir notre offre de produits. Nous avons aussi commencé à travailler sur le lancement de trois nouveaux soutiens-gorges, ce qui permet d’augmenter la valeur du panier moyen de nos clients. « Il peut être très difficile pour des fondatrices d’entreprise de faire des rencontres marquantes. L’expérience qui n’a pas de prix nous a permis de rencontrer de nombreuses autres entrepreneures incroyables. » « On pense que l’avenir des petites entreprises au Canada est dans l’innovation et les personnes ambitieuses. » Voir toutes les gagnantes

Behind The Brand With Gerard Cleal of norda After helping so many others launch their projects, from Opening Ceremony, Belstaff, Little Burgundy & Call It Spring, it was only a matter of time before Gerard Cleal would dive into his own venture. As the Creative Director for norda, Gerard would finally face the opportunity to bring his decades of experience into building the brand identity for trail running’s newest, most advanced and most inclusive footwear brand. From the look and feel to the voice and mission, Gerard has helped develop a brand identity for norda that approaches the sport and all of its athletes differently than any of its competitors, which has positioned norda as a major player within months of the launch. We were fortunate enough to speak with Gerard about how he approached the creative direction for norda, how they treat runners differently than any other brand, tips for new brand builders and of course, what it’s like to be the non-runner at a company of runners. Hey Gerard! Thanks for making the time today to chat. Can you walk us through the process of developing the norda brand identity? What were some of the key things to focus on to develop a brand identity for norda that would stand out from its competitors? Hey guys! Excited to chat. So, here it is. Traditionally, running brands have been built around performance and speed only. There’s sometimes an exclusionary factor to this in which the brands group you into the elite runners bucket or the beginner bucket. If you’re elite, you get the tech. If you’re not, then they give you a lifestyle “runner” without any of the tech or best features. We wanted to get away from that. While we are built on highly technical, next generation materials - and we’re very proud of this - we celebrate every runner equally, whether you’ve just hit your first 5k or you’re an ultra runner. For norda, it’s less about how fast you can run and more about what your running journey looks like, regardless of how far. This led to the question we like to ask; “What do you run for?” We built our customer triad to help us ensure that we were meeting the needs of all runners through our brand identity. There are the elite performance runners, the intermediate runners and the beginner runners or those just hanging out in the lifestyle space (me). norda has to be for all three of these groups but also be able to support people moving up or down the triad. Authenticity was also huge in everything that we built. This was the first opportunity we had to really decide how we wanted to wear our heart on our sleeves. We wanted to be supportive and empower everyone with great products. Our focus is on buying better, not more and about making people feel like they were buying into something that would make them feel something special. It’s not just about putting a flashy logo on the shoe. It’s much more than that and we don’t want our customers to just be walking billboards for norda. Can you talk about the visual identity of the brand? How did you land on the logo, fonts, etc? Speed and performance have generally been synonymous with italics in branding as it denotes movement . We wanted to take a slightly different approach. I am a huge fan of Scandinavian and Nordic design. They have a tendency to sit back more and focus on material and connection to their landscape , culture and history. It’s never overt and obvious. I love this approach and is a cornerstone to why I think branding should always get out of the way. This is what we wanted for norda. The word “still” has really sat with me throughout my design career. We didn’t need the brand to evoke speed or movement. The materials and Louis’s design of the shoe would tell that story and we didn’t need anything to distract from that; the result: a beautiful sense of stillness living throughout. With regards to the typeface, we wanted to explore a more mid-century look, inspired from the original identities of brands we love. That said, Helvetica Now from Monotype which is a new, re-drawn take on Helvetica became our default. Helvetica has been around for ages and is used by a ton of brands like The North Face and even Off-White. In effort to promote a ‘quieter’ presence we went all lowercase and kept it all super simple. Score one for Dieter Rams! For the logo, we wanted to go old school. We’re all huge fans of heritage style sportswear brands like Rapha and Tracksmith . We landed on the shield that is inspired by our own Canadian Shield and that is shifted like a tectonic plate. There’s a strength to a shield, even a disrupted one, that just feels right - it’s really a love letter to this country. -. The norda site was a pivotal moment for the brand and its storytelling. What was it like working with an agency like LG2 to develop the digital experience for norda? LG2 is an incredible agency. They are very client oriented and having the connection between Nick (norda) and Stuart (LG2) helped kick things off really well. We had a bunch of ideas before working with them which I know can make things tricky for agencies sometimes but they weren’t afraid to push back and did so very respectfully which made for a great working relationship. They really cared about the outcome of the project and that led to effective push and pull from both ends. They were committed to creating the absolute best site that they could and we were all very happy with the result. What are 5 things that are important to keep in mind when formulating a brand identity? Firstly, it’s important to define brand and brand identity because they are very different concepts. The brand (logo, wordmark, colours) is really a small piece. The brand identity is the mammoth. That’s the customer, the tone of voice, the identity, the feeling that it gives to customers. That stuff is like the iceberg below the water that isn’t seen but is massively important. Be disciplined. Think about how you connect all of the dots. It’s ok to have different modules within the brand but be disciplined on how they all relate back to each other. Strip away as much as you can and get rid of what isn’t important. I always say to be intentional about what you’re doing and this definitely goes for branding as well. Like I said earlier, branding should always get out of the way. Having more doesn’t make it better. Be curious. Inspiration is going to be everywhere so don’t be afraid to be inspired by what you see and what you make of it. There’s nothing that you’ll ever see that is going to be original. That’s ok. You’ll put your own stamp on what you make to make it your own. That’s what is important. Love those tips! Lastly, we have to ask, what is it like being the “non-runner” on a team of running enthusiasts? I love it. I think you need an outsider on the team to advocate for that newer or non-runner if you’re going to be for everyone. We have this joke with our “What do you run for?” slogan. I run for coffee [laughs]. For more on the norda™ team, check out our Introduction to norda™ and interview with the brand's Head of Design, Louis-Martin Tremblay . Make sure to keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest entrepreneurs, designers, artists, activists and more.

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Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund 2023 (Click here for French) APPLY HERE Happy Small Business Month! Having an impact with entrepreneurs and small business owners is something that we are extremely passionate about at Pier Five. After seeing such an incredible impact from the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund in 2022, we are proud to announce that this year, the fund is doubling. T en women-owned small businesses in Canada will receive $10,000 CAD each in funding and a Priceless Experience to help grow their businesses and enable them to connect with mentors and Mastercard experts. ​ Women small business owners who meet the required qualifications can apply for a chance to receive one of ten funds of $10,000 CAD and a Priceless Experience in Toronto with events sponsored by Mastercard. Learn more about the 2022 recipients here! Application Details ​ Timeline: ​ Applications open: October 3, 2023 Applications close: November 5, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. 15 finalists selected by December 4, 2023 Pier Five internal interviews with the finalists: December 6, 2023 - December 18, 2023 Winner Announcement: January 29, 2024 ​ Note: We appreciate all who take the time to submit an application. Due to the volume of applicants, we unfortunately will not be able to contact all applicants about a final decision unless selected as a finalist. Eligibility Criteria ​ To be eligible for the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund, each applicant and corresponding submission must meet the following criteria: ​ The individual applicant must (i) identify as a cis or transgender woman; (ii) be 19 years of age or older; (iii) be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or hold current and valid authorization under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and (iv) be the owner of the business identified in the application. The business must have a Canadian or provincial business registration number in addition to a registered business name. The business must have a minimum of 1 employee and up to a maximum of 99 employees. The business must make less than $1 million CAD in yearly revenue. The business must have been in operation in Canada for at least one (1) calendar year prior to October 1, 2023. The application form must be completed online at https://www.pier-five.com/smallbusinessfund2023-apply The business must not: be a franchised operation; be a not-for-profit or charitable entity; religiously or politically affiliated; or receive government funding on an ongoing basis for its operational expenses. Each applicant consents to, and agrees to cooperate with, all legal due diligence and background checks that the Sponsors may elect to conduct on the individual applicant and/or the business. Employees, representatives or agents of Sponsors, their parent, affiliated or related companies, subsidiaries, divisions and all advertising, media buying and promotional agencies, and any businesses that these individuals own or are affiliated with, are ineligible, as well as members of the immediate family of, or persons domiciled with, any of those described above. Recipients of a prior fund or grant from Mastercard, Pier Five, American Express, Visa, Union Pay, Discover, PayPal or Interac prior to October 1, 2023 are also ineligible. Franchisees, non-for-profit entities, entities that can apply and/or receive government funding, or are religiously or politically affiliated are also ineligible. All individual applicants and businesses are subject to review and approval by Sponsors, in their absolute discretion, to determine their eligibility for a Fund. Limit of one submission per person and per business. If a business has two co-owners, both of whom meet the individual eligibility criteria, then only one submission may be made by one of the co-owners on behalf of both co-owners. Mastercard, Priceless, and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. ©2023 Mastercard. All rights reserved.

Apply For The Grant! Thank you for your interest in applying for the Pier Five Creators Grant. This grant is aimed at emerging creatives, entrepreneurs, designers, artists or anyone who has a creative passion that they are looking to take to the next level. We are pleased to offer a financial grant of $3,000 CAD to one recipient who may use the funds to help kickstart or continue their creative practice, whether for equipment, courses, materials, travel, etc. Note: This grant is open to residents of Canada, The United States of America, Mexico, The United Kingdom and Europe. *Apps Now Closed*

Dandylion Who: Carolyn Chen Where: Toronto, ON Instagram / Website Carolyn Chen started her dog-care brand Dandylion, when she struggled to find a solution that worked to help her puppy Mocha with his regularly itchy skin. Shefound many conventional grooming products on the market were laden with harsh, drying, and irritating ingredients that exacerbated her puppy’s problem. Carolyn was shocked by the lack of ingredient transparency in the pet grooming industry, a stark contrast to the rigorous standards we expect in the human beauty world. Determined to make a difference in the industry, Dandylion products are meticulously formulated in collaboration with vet dermatologists and human skin care chemists, offering superior dog grooming products that put the dogs' health first and can be trusted by all pet parents. How will you use the $10,000 CAD for your business? The $10,000 would have two instrumental purposes for Dandylion. The first half would go towards research and development for new products with innovative application design, something that’s never been done before on dog-care products. The second half of the fund would go towards our community content initiatives, which have helped garner a ton of awareness and sales for the brand thus far. What is your big goal for the future of the business? One of our most significant long-term goals, spanning the next three to five years, is to expand our presence into mass retail. Our vision is to make better dog care products accessible to all dog parents. By broadening our distribution channels to encompass mass retail, we aim to reach a more extensive and diverse audience of dog owners. This strategic move will not only allow us to bring our innovative and health-focused products to a wider market but also enhance the well-being of countless dogs across the Canada & US. Dandylion was recently accepted into retailers Indigo and Chewy as a new brand for 2024! See All Recipients

2023 Fund Recipients In 2023, we partnered with Mastercard to launch the second year of the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business fund to support Canadian women small business owners across the country. With over 1,600 applications submitted, ten recipients were selected to receive $10,000 in funding and a Priceless Experience in Toronto - a unique opportunity to connect and network with the other Fund recipients, subject matter experts at Mastercard and other industry professionals - which will take place in 2024. Learn about the new fund recipients below. (Click here for French) Joni Linda Biggs Loba Kate Bouchard Spice Girl Chai Rebecca Pereira Dandylion Carolyn Chen Zing Jannine Rane Inoki Bathhouse Helen Yin Guests On Earth Jackie Prince & Liz Drayton Cubed Style Christine, Candace & Camille Oliver U Grow Girl Crystal Wood & Leha Marshall Colour The Trails Judith Kasiama

Subvention de Mastercard et Pier Five pour petite entreprise 2023 (cliquez ici pour l'anglais) Consultez les modalités ici. Consultez la politique de protection des renseignements personnels ici. Mastercard, Priceless et le concept de cercles sont des marques déposées de Mastercard International Incorporated. © Mastercard, 2023. Tous droits réservés.