A Conversation With Kyron Warrick aka Gotsweige Montreal based creative entrepreneur and modern renaissance man, Kyron Warrick, also known by his social channels Gotsweige, has created a name for himself as one of Canada’s fastest growing talents in fashion. As an advocate of the “don’t knock it until you try it” mentality, Kyron has made a strong effort to explore all facets of the fashion industry including styling, creative consulting for brands, content creation, product design and modelling, to develop his skills, identify what he loves and put one-hundred percent of his energy into his success. Now after nearly a decade as a Fashion Youtuber, an impressive following on Instagram and a growing portfolio of impressive clients, Kyron is on a roll and showing no signs of slowing down. Before he outgrows us all, we got a chance to link up with Kyron in his hometown of Montreal to discuss his come up, life as a YouTuber, the need for supporting local brands and never being afraid of what you love and then of course, we had to shoot some street style pics and break down his fits. You’ve been on YouTube for nearly 10 years now. What has that journey been like? It’s kind of crazy that it’s been this long. The first five years were more casual for me but the last five, I have been really focused. Content creation was something I could really take into my own hands which I liked. A lot of fashion is actually slow moving and there’s a lot of waiting around. With YouTube, I didn’t have to do that. I could make content, have fun and create new opportunities for myself through that. You’ve been really ramping up the amount of content lately and the channel has been growing at a really consistent pace. What are 5 tips you’d give to aspiring content creators to increase their success on YouTube? Consistency is definitely the biggest thing. I know people say this a lot but it’s really true. Once I got out of school and could start putting more time into content, things really started progressing. I saw the results of consistency first hand. Have your own thoughts. People will consume your content if there are your own thoughts throughout. Be inspired but make it your own. Do it because you like it and not because you’re looking for validation or growth. Know yourself. Understand what you’re good at and what you’re not good at. Once you identify your strengths, you can go full force into that. On the note of making things your own, your style has always been very unique. Did you ever face criticism for doing things a little differently? Definitely. In high school, while I did have a bunch of friends, people definitely kind of looked at me as the weird kid. I was the only person that I knew who was into fashion but didn’t let that bother me. I was so focused on learning about the industry that I didn’t care about what people thought. One of your more popular content series highlights low-key/up & coming streetwear brands. Why is shining a light on these smaller/local brands so important to you? Any you’d want to shout out today? When I was coming up, I always wished there were people that would shout me out and help me get exposure so now that I have a bit of an audience, I want to be able to be that person for others. Starting from zero is really tough so I want to help lift those people up. I also think that a lot of these brands are really cool and it’s sustainable for me to consume as well because it’s often a bit more affordable and I like knowing that my money is going to someone local and not just into the pockets of big corporations. One of the brands I really love is Wun-Off, they do a lot of pop-culture installments and have a philanthropic side to the brand as well. They recently dropped the “Covid Ruined My Spring Break” hat and used proceeds to buy toys for children in need. installments. Just did the covid ruined my spring break trucker. Grimey MTL is another one I’m really into as well. It’s a pretty common progression for content creators to start their own brands. You’ve done collabs with some in the past but would you ever consider starting your own brand? It’s definitely something that I’m thinking about. Through working with so many others, I’ve learned a lot about what I would need to put into starting my own brand and what I would and wouldn’t want it to be about. A lot of creators are making merch and I definitely don’t want my stuff to be just that. I think about this as a long term play. I won’t be doing Youtube when I’m 40 so if it’s just merch then it ends when Youtube ends. I want my brand to be something that can grow with me and outlive things that I might be doing now. Let’s talk about style now. How would you describe your personal style? What are you wearing these days? My style is very situational based but is often a combination of lively vintage 70’s style and darker silhouettes from brands like Rick Owens. I like to mix bright and dark together. Your style has followed a number of trends, from hype, to sneakerhead to luxury. Looking back on it all, what do you think were some of your best and worst moments in your fashion career thus far? I think my best moment, and potentially also my worst, was the Pyrex-Hood By Air phase. I really wasn’t aware of all that it represented. I was super impressionable, like all kids on the internet were, but it was good for me to go through that and start experimenting with things. It helped me start to really learn about what I do and don’t like. It also exposed me to some black designers who are now making huge waves. (break down Kyron’s fit with pics and labels of the items/brands) Do you think Montreal was integral in developing your style and business? I used to think that I had to get out of Montreal to make it but the internet has so much power so I have always been able to tap into cultures and people around the world without leaving. Montreal is also great as well though. It has given me so many opportunities and really shaped who I am today. In addition, whenever I go visit my family in NY or Philly I can bring that different perspective too which I think plays to my advantage. Overall, Montreal really is a power city and I think that a few more icons coming out of here will be big for putting it on the map. Justin Saunders [JJJound] is doing a lot for the city. I think a big musical figure would be huge too. Totally agree! Lastly, what's next for you? Honestly, I’m taking things day by day. Whatever I enjoy, I’ll work on. The brand is definitely in the works but I don’t have a launch date. I’m going to work on getting even more opportunities in styling as well and just see where things go. And of course, more video content! Make sure to follow Kyron Warrick on Instagram and YouTube to follow his journey and get updates on all of his new work and don’t forget to keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest entrepreneurs, designers, artists, activists and more.

Playing the Game Better With Drew Stevens of Margin Skincare "You're never going to please everyone" is a phrase that set Drew Stevens, founder of the skincare brand Margin, free. In the era of amplified social judgment, and hundreds of new competitors popping up every week, it is more important now than ever to understand what you're in it for, and if that reason is guided by passion, like it is for Drew, then the only way forward is up. Backed by the creative minds of Benjamin Edgar, Chris Black, Ben Sehl (KOTN) and Sam Jayne, Drew has assembled the creative avengers to release what is currently one of the most exciting science-first, aesthetically beautiful skincare brands on the market. We spoke to Drew about his learnings as an entrepreneur, his tips for assembling a great team and how he deals with the competition; good and bad. Scroll down to read! Hey Drew, for those who aren't too familiar with you and Margin, can you tell us how it came together? Hey guys! My name is Drew Stevens and I'm the founder of Margin. I've always been really into skincare, and prior to starting Margin had the chance to spend a lot of time with with the founders of bootstrapped and venture backed businesses both inside and outside the beauty industry through my work in private equity. I was lucky enough to get to know some of the best skin scientists in the world, and in getting to know them had the chance to share (and confirm) a set of beauty industry observations that I thought left a gap serving me effectively and honouring my interest in skin.. Ultimately, Margin was launched as a way for my to offer myself and my peers a skin solution that incorporated best-in-class-ingredients, logic-driven formulations, and product design that I could be confident using and displaying in my home. The whole process started in 2020 and from there, we’ve put together a great team and had a lot of fun working on what is now Margin (which we launched in 2022). With all of the R&D and trials to get the product to be what you envisioned it to be, how do you know when it's finally right? It's really hard to figure out when it's right. I think a lot of it has to come down to me being really proud of the product. If I can stand behind it, and I really love it, and we put it out in the world and it bricks, I'm fine with that because this was me and the team's decision. I don't think I would sleep well at night if we conceded based on a product to try and make everyone happy and didn't put out what we loved the most. Realistically, you're not going to make everyone happy. If you go to a major beauty website and look at their top trending products, what you'll find is that for virtually every product in the world that's ever been released, reviews are normally distributed on both ends. You'll have 20% of people that say that they are absolutely obsessed, you'll have a bunch of people in the middle saying it's pretty good and then you'll have 20% to 30% of the audience saying "I wouldn't put this on my worst enemy", and yet it's a best selling product. At the end of the day, there is no such thing as universally loved anything, so I just try and put out what we really like and if it works, great. You have some pretty established names on your board/co-founder table. What was your process to getting in touch with them and getting them on board? From a cold calling perspective, you'd be surprised at how easy it is to get in touch with people. Social media has totally changed that over the years. If you have a tweet that bangs and somebody replies to it and they're an interesting person, boom, be in their DMs immediately. Same with Instagram and then if you're doing something interesting, offer somebody a little bit of value and something tangible they can act on. Meeting Chris the first time, I had never interacted with him, not on a social platform, nothing before. I knew who he was and I thought he'd be an interesting partner in a venture like this. It was literally me just sending him an email and saying, "This is what I do now. This is what's interesting about what I do now. This is an insight that I think I have that I think would be compelling and I'd love to know your take on it because I think of you as x, y, and z". The biggest thing though is just come to them with a good idea. I came to him with "Here's my insight about skincare and here's what I think we can do about it. Tell me I'm crazy". It wasn't just like, "hey, bro, skincare is really hot right now. Want to do something?" because that's not really actionable and that's not like a nutritious little bite for them or a hook in the water that they may find interesting. You've mastered skincare and the art of networking. What is on your list of things to master in 2024? I'm really trying to master my energy output in the most efficient way. My default is to try and move 30 footballs an inch up the field every day and then at the end of the week, I look back and the 30 footballs have only moved a few inches and that's not really that noticeable of an improvement. I think the right way to work is actually for me to run one football ten yards down the field for like a half day, run another one five yards down the field for a part of the day, and, be very focused on trying to really make progress on a few tasks in a given time period versus trying to do so many tasks at once. That's very difficult, as I'm sure many people reading can relate to this when you're running your own thing or have a side project that you're working on too. It becomes easy to feel busy and tired and feel like you spent energy, but not really have a lot to show for it. So this is what I'm trying to focus on and master in 2024. The beauty industry, like many others, has a ton of players that seem to care more about making a quick buck than an impactful product. What do you think about those types of brands? This is very true. The reason I'm doing this is because I care about products so much and I want the product to be the best it can be. I have a visceral reaction to the idea that someone would try and enter the market with a product that's trendy but potentially ineffective or harmful, but I also know that the answer isn't just for me to go around and say "hey,, that's not OK." There's a game being played, right? We're on this giant field and the way for me to make a point is to just eat their lunch, right? The way to do it is to play the game better than them. If in five years or ten years or twenty years, we've played the game better, then we will be rewarded for that and if we didn't play the game well or the game changed on us and people actually didn't care what they put on their skin then, you know what, I wasn't playing the right game and I lost. However, I can lose feeling good, right? This is my passion, but at the end of the day, I try to remember that there's an element of sports or gamesmanship to this and any other business as an entrepreneur, and just focus on what I can do to play the game better. I think that's a healthier attitude and so when I hear about competitors like that, it's like, okay, great, you're playing the game well right now. Let me see if I can't outscore you. Make sure to check out Margin and keep it locked to Pier Five for more founder interviews just like this!

Ready For Anything With Bimma Williams For almost any creative, the dream is to be your own boss and turn your side-hustle into your career. It's shiny, there's freedom, more money if it's successful and so many other possible upsides. When Bimma Williams, sneaker professional turned expert conversationalist and host, left his stable career in the footwear industry to pursue his passion project Claima Stories full-time, these were the things he was after; and over time, he's been getting them, but not without some surprises along the way. Now with nearly fifteen years under his belt as an entrepreneur, five of which on Claima working with and interviewing some of the biggest names in the culture, Bimma has some stories of his own to tell and secrets to share with our community. Read the conversation below! Having left your 9-5 for a life as an entrepreneur and freelancer, what's something others thinking about doing the same should know? When most people consider freelance or starting a business, they often fail to realize what they are agreeing to take on. My creative expression is being a host, speaking, holding conversations, and now teaching as well. When I took that on, I'm not just taking that on. I'm also taking on, "how do I market and put myself out there?" Then you're in on finances. "How do I price myself?" Then you're taking on Operations because you need to figure out how to pay expenses and work on taxes and all of that stuff too. You're very involved in a lot of different things. You need to have the ability to harmonize all these different things. One thing to remember though is, yes, it is challenging but it's not impossible and there's also the opportunity for greater reward. You seem to be very humble with money and smart around spending on creativity. Are you thinking about that a lot? With any creative, when you get access to funds, the first thing you probably want to do is the biggest, shiniest thing possible. If you had all the resources in the world, you would leverage them but the interesting thing about that is, it's a mistake. We've seen it time and time again. When folks get too many resources, it actually diminishes their creativity. Some of the most creative projects and some of the best albums, did not have these glorious, gigantic budgets. They were just pure passion. When we did get that funding and that investment, we made some investments and some enhancements to production, but at the same time, we tried not to spend too much of that revenue. We would reach out to a brand and see if they would send us some microphones or some cameras or anything to keep the cost down. That money goes fast and you want to be super cognizant of how you can leverage it to get things to the next place over and over again. You've spoken about this concept of 'being ready' for opportunity. How does one do that? First of all, no one likes to hear this but you're never ready. It doesn't matter what the opportunity is because likely the opportunities are going to come from a place that you couldn't predict. Secondly, the opportunities are likely going to stretch you and so you have to make a decision on if you feel like you can rise to that occasion. One of the things that Will Smith spoke about in his book, that I love, is when you also are determining if you're ready or not, it also comes down to not being overly analytical and not overthinking the opportunity. When it's someone that you trust and they're bringing you an opportunity, to me, that opportunity is the one you need to say yes to and so sometimes being ready is purely just a mindset thing. You have to be ready in your heart. You need to be ready when it comes to how you want to put yourself in that situation. When you think about being ready, those are the things you need to think about. Once the opportunities and the audience come, it can feel tough to keep up with output demand. Have you every struggled with that feeling? All of these major media companies like Hypebeast or Complex, they all have huge content teams. This is why they can execute so much all of the time but as an individual, execute where you can execute. We've seen time and time again, so many different young creatives that may not have those systems, but they cut through with their thing. One of my favorites is Lynae Vanee. She puts out one video a week, and that thing cooks. She does her thing and she's not trying to compete with volume. She's competing with quality. I think when you have quality and you know your audience and you're hitting that sweet spot, people are always going to respond. They're always going to show up. When I came back, folks had missed me. It was clear. The response was there. So if I go away, it's not like I'm being forgotten in this sea of content or storytelling that's going out. So I think it's just important to remember that. Lastly, what do you think is the most important thing for any creative to understand, regardless of the industry? It's really important to develop a 'no bullshit mindset'. We can come up with a number of reasons why we won't do anything but I made an agreement with myself a long time ago was that there's nothing that's going to replace doing the work. That being said, I'm not going to feel 100% every day and it's okay if I decide, like, today I ain't got it. I'm going to take that break. If I can't put out something meaningful, what's the point? The world's not going to end and my audience isn't going to disappear because I needed to make sure I took care of myself. You can't do anything right if you haven't taken care of yourself first. Make sure to follow Bimma's Instagram for news on all of his upcoming projects and keep it locked to Pier Five for more conversations just like these!

A Conversation With Julie Clark of Province Apothecary Julie Clark is the founder of Province Apothecary, a natural beauty company founded through her experiences crafting natural, organic beauty products out of her kitchen to help her own needs battling eczema and allergies. Julie's goal is to create pure, effective products that benefit even the most sensitive complexions so that you can feel beautiful in your skin. @julie.anne.clark // @provinceapothecary There are so many products/routines out there and skincare can sometimes seem intimidating. What are 5 tips you can give for those starting off in their skincare journey? Less is more. Begin with a simple 3 step routine of a) cleansing, b) toning/hydrating and c) moisturizing/nourishing so as to not get overwhelmed with too many products or steps. Set a time in the morning + evening that makes sense for YOU so you will follow through + be consistent with your new routine. Try not to rush through your routine, rather, make it a loving self-care ritual that you enjoy doing. Talk to an experienced Skin Therapist to learn about your particular skin needs so you get on the right track with products, ingredients & approach right from the start. Try to look for clean, simple ingredients. If you can’t pronounce them, they are probably harsh chemicals that aren’t good for your skin or body as a whole. Trust that healing & caring for skin is a process, not an event. It sometimes takes time to see results, but with a holistic approach, the results are lifelong. What is your skincare routine? Of course, I always use Province Apothecary products in my daily skincare routine. I always begin with cleansing with our Moisturizing Oil Cleanser & Makeup Remover, morning & evening (even if I don’t have makeup on) as it not only removes dirt, oil, makeup & impurities on the skin, it adds moisture and calms my sensitive and dry skin. I follow up my cleanse (both am & pm) with our Invigorating + Balancing Toner to hydrate + soothe my skin, while prepping it for the next step On damp skin from the toner, I massage my oil-based custom serum into my skin using our Natural Face Lift Massage Ritual, which deeply nourishes my skin with ingredients chosen especially for my specific skin concerns. I do this step morning + evening. Next up I do our Sculpting + Toning Facial Cup protocol, that smooths, plumps & evens out my skin tone. Lastly I seal in all this goodness with either our Nourishing + Revitalizing Moisturizer (summertime) or our Protecting + Restoring Face Balm (wintertime). An extra step if my eczema/sensitivity is in full force, I layer on the Healing Eczema Balm as a night treatment. You talk about diet & nutrition playing a part in healthy skin. What are 5 recipes/ingredients you’ve been having lately that can help with skincare? During the cold, dry winter months, making sure I get enough good fats is key to healthy & protected skin. Avocados, olive oil, nuts & seeds are all good sources. Salmon is rich in Vitamin D and healthy omegas which feed skin, hair & nails. Fruits high in Vitamin C such as kiwis, oranges, pineapples help hydrate skin cells and help skin to heal. Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin A which benefit hair, skin and nails and contain more than 700% of your daily recommended intake. And last but definitely not least, Water. The best thing we can all do for healthy skin is to drink lots of water because the skin, and entire body require it to function properly. We love your blog segment “Women We Admire”. Besides those you’ve featured, who are 5 women you really admire these days? My Business Partner Natalie is constantly inspiring me, I am so lucky to work with her everyday! My mom and 2 sisters are really helping me get through this pandemic, thankful for text groups and video chats. They are always doing fun things and cooking delicious meals. What are 5 skincare/beauty products you can’t live without? Daily glow dry brush to support lymphatic drainage Dual Action Jade Roller to stimulate + smooth Sculpting + Toning Facial Cup set Nourishing oil serums-never enough oils! Healing Eczema Balm! This is how Province Apothecary all began! We hear the term “Natural Beauty” a lot these days. From the view of Province Apothecary, what are 5 important things everyone should know about natural beauty? Natural beauty is a glow that comes from within, but can be supported with the right natural skincare products & practices. Taking care of your Whole Self with proper nutrition, sleep/rest, hydration, exercise, being in nature and connecting with others ALL are important parts of achieving Natural Beauty. Natural Beauty is not forced or manipulated, but rather a loving and patient approach to supporting our bodies & our skin in a way that focuses more on acceptance and trust than trying to change something that was never wrong in the first place. Natural Beauty means being mindful & intentional about what we put on our skin and in our bodies, choosing things that are clean, healthy & good for not only US, but for Planet Earth as well. Natural Beauty means knowing yourself & your skin & trusting that IT knows how to find balance if you give it the right support.

Event page for the Pier Five Athletics Club's wellness event, Winter Refresh TORONTO WINTER REFRESH Get Tickets When: March 5, 2026: 7:30 - 9:30PM Where: NRG Haus Share: Facebook WhatsApp Copy link Let's shake off that winter chill together! The Pier Five Athletics Club (PFAC) is one of Toronto's most diverse sport & wellness programs. Catering to creatives, entrepreneurs and hustlers who crave new forms of connection and a break for the daily grind, we have developed a series of events throughout the year that will show you a new side of the city and a new side of yourself that you'll love. This is PFAC's first-ever hot & cold wellness event, and we couldn't be more excited to host it at NRG Haus, a new, sober-social wellness facility in Liberty Village. Equipped with an immersive cold plunge room, group-format saunas, a tea-lounge and mocktail bar, we couldn't think of a better place to gather and get out of that winter funk together. This event includes: 2 hour wellness experience Free-flow and guided access to saunas and cold plunges A fully equipped bar of FREE non-alc drinks from our friends at Well Juices & Geez Louise Delicious healthy snacks from The Low Carb Co Complimentary wellness gifts from our friends at MARGIN DJ's keeping the vibe throughout the full event A curated crowd of creatives, entrepreneurs and wellness lovers Come ready to sweat and plunge. Wear something you can move and get wet in (recommended bathing suits). Leave your winter woes at the door. We'll see you at NRG Haus! Doors open at 7:10PM for a 7:30PM start. GET YOUR TICKETS HERE.

Change the future of small business owners and entrepreneurs! We're looking for talented people who want to help make an impact with the most passionate builders on the planet! Available Opportunities Brand Partnerships Manager (Remote) Have any questions? Send us an email to community@pier-five.com !

Embracing Your Community With Sarah Sukumaran of Lilith NYC The realities of starting any business always have two things in common. The first is you can't predict your path. There will always be unknowns. The second is that no matter where that path might take you, anything is possible. Sarah Sukumaran, NYC-based tech exec turned sneaker designer and now founder of Lilith NYC has embraced that wholeheartedly and has some great antidotes for anyone looking to turn their creative passions into a business. The learnings that she has acquired over the years with traditional tech roles, a predictive analytics gig at Nike - a natural fit for a sneaker-loving software product director - to now the life of an entrepreneur, have set her up for years of success and are something we could all benefit from. Scroll down for some gems from the conversation with Sarah. Hi Sarah! You're a big advocate of embracing your community. How did that play a part in getting Lilith off the ground? It's amazing. When you put out in the universe that you're doing something, people will naturally gravitate towards you and start making those connections wherever they can. Lean into that. When I started vocalizing and putting it out there that I was starting a footwear company, people all of a sudden had these connections for me and that's how all of my contacts, angel investors and other people I now work with, have come about. What's it like going from the tech world to now being recognized as a sneaker designer and brand owner? I worked in tech and I thought that was my life. I was ready to become a DevOps engineer and I really thought that's where my career was headed. So now, it's so nice to explore this creative side that I didn't know I had. I really love colour theory and working with materials. When I'm in Portugal, going to the leather supplier and looking at the suede that we're going to go with, or looking at the colour swatches; I have such a strong passion for that. People now refer to me as a creative and I'm still getting used to embracing it because I still am this nerdy tech person but now I'm a creative too which is pretty cool. Any advice to someone who was in your position looking to start their own brand while working a 9-5? I am a big proponent of not quitting your job and working on your side hustle when you're getting a nice check at your current employer. The only reason I quit [Nike] was because it was a clear conflict of interest working for a footwear brand and starting my own. If I was working as a tech company I would definitely have done this as a side hustle and just kept collecting a check. You need to be able to financially support yourself or have savings to be able to take that leap on your dream. Work full time and spend more hours after each day building your startup. There are so many little things you can do to get your startup off the ground, especially in footwear. You can source the factory on the internet and spend $200 to get a sample made. Everything is possible. You just need to take those small steps and making it work doesn't have to involve quitting your job and going bankrupt throughout the process. Lilith has done a bunch of pop-ups and is in a few retailers. Is expanding that a big goal of yours? I think for any brand, you always need to have a multi-channel experience. In year one, we started getting approached by retailers but I just felt like I wasn't ready. However, I realize now how important that is and we're definitely working on getting into more and more doors and doing more pop ups. Online is great but getting people to try on the shoes, especially at my price point it key. Just like any portfolio, you need a diversified approach as an entrepreneur. So true! Lastly, has been one of your biggest learnings since starting Lilith? Shifting away from traditional seeding and actually using your customers as the influencer, that's been an interesting shift and learning for me. I was wasting time seeding people who would post once and never wear the shoe again. Now, I'll surprise a customer who's bought two or three pairs and be like, here's a free shoe because I know that they're going to wear the hell out of it and that's probably better marketing at the end of the day. They're the ones who post the authentic photos, wear the shoes and get complimented in person and get way more excited! They're their own ambassadors to the brand. I love it and they love it. Make sure to follow Lilith for news on their pop-ups and releases and keep it locked to Pier Five for more conversations with creative entrepreneurs like Sarah!

A Conversation With Daniel and Caleb of Circle Author Coming off of a very successful launch for their Olympic Collection, we caught up with the founders of Circle Author, a new brand taking the arts and fashion scene by storm with their vintage inspired designs, thoughtful story telling and positive messaging. Driven by the desire to inspire change in as many people as possible, Circle Author has become a platform for connecting like minded creatives and positive thinkers in addition to offering artistic experiences and fresh products. Read through the conversation below to learn more about the brand, the meaning behind their powerful mantras, how they connect with their audience through transparency and much more. Hey Caleb & Daniel, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. For those who may not know, who are you & what is Circle Author? Hey guys! We’re Daniel & Caleb, the founders of Circle Author. Circle Author started in 2019 when we were talking about working on a project together. We’re both very into fashion but we didn’t immediately think about a clothing brand. We just knew that whatever we started had to be purposeful. The clothing brands that we love are all very idea and community driven and not just about design and we saw that as inspiration which is what ultimately led to the start of Circle Author. Today, Circle Author is a clothing brand but our goal is to use the clothing to inspire others, spread positivity and help others to find the beauty and art in their lives, which we do through storytelling with the clothing that we make. Can you speak more about Circle Author’s mantra of “Art is Everywhere”? How do you feel it translates into the products that you make? “Art Is Everywhere” is about the idea that you can be inspired by everything. A lot of people think art can only be found in galleries or online but the truth is, anything can be art. We think it’s important for people to have an open mind to the art that is all around them and that by doing so, it will create a much more innovative and creative world. With our designs, sometimes we’ll use overt messaging to inspire people and push them to open their eyes to the “art world”. Other times we just make what we like as an expression of our own creativity. At the end of the day, this project is just fun for us but if we can inspire others in some way then that is a win as well. You both do a great job of giving a behind the scenes look into the thought process and experimentation of the brand, especially with your subpage @catalog.ca. What is the reason for wanting to give your audience that inside look? @catalog.ca was created because there was a ton of stuff that we wanted to share that didn’t always match our main feed. The way you present yourself [on your main page] is super important and we wanted to maintain that clean image but still bring people in and keep them involved with us every day. Having a secondary page helps us continue to give our following something, even when we don’t have final projects to post on the main Circle Author page. This makes a ton of sense and is definitely a great way to stay top of mind. Do you think more brands should do this? Some should. Some shouldn’t. It definitely makes brands feel more approachable which can be very valuable for certain brands but others succeed based on that exclusivity and secrecy. The brands that we really like though are more inclusive so it feels right to us. What brands are you inspired by? Aime Leon Dore. Mad Happy. New York Sunshine. They all have great aesthetics, awesome products and just an all around great vibe. We’re also both heavily inspired by vintage and reference vintage designs a ton for our own pieces. What are your favourite pieces from your collections so far and why? The Change The World pieces mean a lot to us. The design is simple but it represents a community of people making a positive impact on the world. The Good Ol’ Apple Co collab tee as well was super fun to put together. We did that one with our homie Andrew who also does mockups for Mad Happy which was very cool. We also loved making the Aged Hoodie because we experimented with new methods of screen printing and it came out really cool. We unevenly hit the screen to give it a faded vintage look and spent a ton of time making each one by hand. It didn’t actually sell as well as some of the others but we really loved it. All great pieces. The Change The World collection specifically is definitely a standout collection for Circle Author and really well executed. What’s the secret to putting out a product like this that, although it is quite simple design-wise, has a bigger meaning behind it? The design at the end of the day is only half of the release. The launch and presentation are super important and that’s what makes the difference between an “Instagram brand” and a proper brand that can have longevity. So many of these “instagram brands” just slap logos and phrases on clothes and put them out. Don’t get us wrong, that can totally work for some but we try to ensure that we are building a bigger story behind each piece. We’re trying to build something that can stand the test of time. We believe the Change The World pieces can do this if it’s done right and if we can get people to understand what those words really mean to us and how they represent our community. We totally back this and are glad to see that you both put so much thought behind the product and the story. Lastly, what’s next for you Circle Author that we should all keep an eye out for? We just got an office which we’re super stoked about! All of this stuff is so new to us and things are becoming really real which is sick. We really want to start doing art installments. The dream is to go to Art Basel in Miami and do an installation there. We have this idea of a Change The World vending machine with a huge billboard that says change the world. It’s still an idea in the works but we would love to have a bigger stage to spread that message of positivity. For clothing, we aren’t quite at the point where we plan things really far in advance so it’s hard to say yet. We are looking to get more into cut and sew now that we have some money from past drops. We might do a varsity jacket and a cut and sew trucker hat. Still in the works but we’re rolling with the ideas. We never thought we’d even get to a point where we could think about making these sorts of things but it’s so cool that we can, so stay on the lookout for that. Check out Circle Author's latest release and make sure to follow their Instagram to get updates on their upcoming drops. Keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest entrepreneurs, designers, artists, activists and more.

An Introduction to norda™ When You Can’t Find It, Make It Many of the guests on Pier Five can be considered problem solvers. Whether through community work, knowledge sharing or product creation, the best results come from real needs. The latest group of problem solvers to grace Pier Five with their presence comes from decades of experience as endurance athletes and lifelong shoe craftsmen who, after years of being unsatisfied with the product offering on the market, decided to take matters into their own hands. Without any further ado, we are pleased to introduce norda™, the world’s newest trail running footwear brand, created by runners for runners. While norda™ was made possible by people all over the world, the brand is run by four individuals in Montreal and the East Townships in Quebec, Canada who set out on a mission to create the world’s lightest, fastest and most durable trail running shoe. While there are other brands out there with deep pockets, norda™ feels they have the ability to take the sport by storm. This ability starts with the incredible team that makes up norda™. Running Is A Team Sport The company was founded by, husband and wife, Nick and Willa Martire who have spent many years as high-performance runners, bikers, skiers and hikers and nearly equal time as pioneers in the footwear industry. The two have collectively held leadership roles with major companies Aldo, Authentic Brands Group and Pretty Ballerinas LTD, developing and launching numerous high-tier brands in North America. The second half of norda™ is equally as impressive. The brand’s Head of Design, Louis-Martin Tremblay, founder of Atelier LMTL, designs for Aime Leon Dore, KITH & SSENSE, and Gerard Cleal, who is the founder of Thompson + Cleal Agency and previously worked as Design Director for ALDO, serves as the Creative Director for norda™. Between the four partners with over sixty years of combined footwear experience, an incredible product, a strong international network of creators, producers and athletes, and the support of many of the best running stores around the globe, norda™ has all the tools to make a big splash in the space. The Shoe The norda™ shoe is unlike any other trail running shoe that exists and was made to prove that high performance and sustainability should always run together. The shoe, norda™ 001, is made from Dyneema®: the world’s strongest and lightest fiber™. Dyneema delivers the lowest carbon footprint per unit strength of any material. Seventy-five percent of the energy used to manufacture Dyneema Fiber® comes from renewable energy sources. The sole of the shoe is a brand new design made in collaboration with Vibram, a leader in shoe design and footwear soles, and was inspired by the Canadian Shield, the largest and strongest pre-Cambrian rock formation on Earth. The soleplate is engineered with Vibram® Litebase® technology to conserve energy and enhance your performance with a thirty percent duction in overall sole weight. The Vibram® MegaGrip® rubber delivers superior durability, traction and the strongest possible grip on both wet and dry surfaces. The norda™ 001 was made with patience, perseverance and grit and was built to unlock every runner’s full potential. Whether you’re running around the block or fifty kilometers, norda™ believes that everyone deserves the best and was made to deliver the ultimate running experience without compromising on the company’s sustainability goals. A Conversation With Co-Founder Nick Martire Over the next three months, Pier Five is proud to introduce a new series of content with some of the coolest people in footwear, product design, brand direction and running, made possible only by our friends at norda™. To kick things off, we sat down with norda™ co-founder, Nick Martire, to chat about the journey of starting norda™ with his wife, what it was like to build a team with a shared vision, global product manufacturing during a pandemic and much more. Read the conversation below and when you’re finished, head over to norda™ website for an in-depth look at the sneaker and the ability to pre-order the norda™ 001 before it sells out! Hey Nick! It’s so great to be chatting about norda™ and this launch. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit more about how the idea of norda™ came to be? Hey guys! Really excited to be connected. The idea of norda™ came from my wife, Willa. We’ve both been endurance athletes for nearly all our lives and after a certain point, we couldn’t find a shoe that was light enough, strong enough and fast enough for us. We were having a conversation about this and Willa looked at me and said “why don’t you make it?”. At first it was a wild thought, but we have worked in the footwear industry for so long and I thought “ya, we could actually do this!”. Love that! If you can’t find it, make it. The norda™ 001 is made using materials and technology from some pretty incredible companies, Dyneema and Vibram, which we can’t imagine are easy to just link up with. How did that come together and what drove you to want to work with them? We knew this shoe had to be driven by science and technology to achieve our goals. We went out looking for leading edge materials, and examined what elite rock climbers, hikers and hardcore backpackers were using. That led us to Dyneema, a material whose properties are simply unmatched. Nobody has been able to make a shoe like we did out of Dyneema and we set a mission to break the historical boundaries of performance and sustainability. It took a global team of equally like minded and stubborn people to make this happen but at the end of the day, we got it done. For Vibram, we were able to partner with them to engineer a completely new sole. They are leaders in that space and our Head of Design, Louis-Martin Tremblay, was able to create something really incredible with them, featuring all of their best technologies in weight, feel and grip. The result is a sole that Vibram calls “the Dream”, because it is their highest performance running sole ever made; and it’s exclusive to norda. That’s very cool. Besides making the best shoe from a performance standpoint, why was making a shoe with sustainable materials and processes so important for norda™? It’s critical that we take responsibility for our actions. The apparel and footwear industry are some of the most polluting industries. Shoes are not recycled in any way, shape or form, and while we’re not there yet, we believe the strongest impact we can make today is to go up the supply chain to make shoes in a more sustainable manner. The goal was to make the ultimate cutting edge shoes with the smallest footprint. Most brands ignore this because it’s hard and expensive, but we won’t do that. We can’t imagine the manufacturing process was easy during the pandemic. How did you navigate everything? It definitely wasn’t easy. Many manufacturers only want to go into sure things, especially during the pandemic. We reached out to our network and friends who we have worked with for many years. You would be surprised how much goodwill there is from the people in your circle, and how much they are willing to help if they believe in your vision. For us, the R&D team in Europe and Asia was beyond committed to making this product a reality. We were working with manufacturers overseas and technology and material that had never been used to this extent in running shoes before so it was a lot of back and forth but we kept pushing. It was hundreds of hours of calls with people all over the world and, at times, we thought we wouldn’t be able to complete certain parts that we wanted to, but our team never stopped believing in our mission and what we were trying to accomplish. Well it was worth every minute. Now that the shoe is ready for launch, can you share some info about the launch strategy for the norda™ 001? We’re very excited for the launch. Our Creative Director, Gerard Cleal, led some amazing work with Canandian creative agency LG2 and visual production house L’Eloi, to put together our digital launch strategy. We have also had the support of some of the most experienced endurance athletes and explorers from around the world to help us build awareness for the shoe’s release. The shoe goes live for pre-sale on our website on July 14th *psst it’s live now!* and we will be releasing the shoes in some of the best running shops in North America, as well as some distribution with a couple international stores. We plan on expanding internationally further in 2022. Later in August we will also be releasing a very special collaboration that we cannot wait to share more information about soon. Pier Five will have special coverage of this collaboration later in the series so be on the lookout for that! We can’t wait for all of that and are so excited to put some miles in these shoes. Lastly, for those who may not have explored the world of trail running before but might look to norda™ to be their introduction, what tips would you give to those looking to hit the trails for the first time? Firstly, you need the right shoes! Trail shoes have more traction than road shoes, and they’re built for stability on ever changing ground. Decide where you are going and get prepared. If you’re lucky you can find a great trail in the city’s parks, or a provincial park. Make a plan for the day. Figure out how far you’re going to go and make sure you have the right amount of food and water. The weather can change quickly depending on how long you plan to be out for. Lastly, slow your pace down compared to road running, take breaks and enjoy the scenery around you. The magic of trail running is that you get to experience views and sensations that only being in a wild natural setting can provide. If you’re as stoked as we are to hit the trails with norda™, be sure to check out their instagram and website for more information on the norda™ 001 and upcoming news and releases. Keep it locked to Pier Five as we continue to roll out content over the next few months with some of the coolest people in footwear, product design, brand direction and running, made only possible by our friends at norda™, and stay tuned for a special announcement from Pier Five & norda™ at the end of the series.

Putting In The Hours With Jess Sanchez of Santa Isla A common through line in entrepreneurship is resilience but the idea of always "pushing through" is often easier said than done. What helps is having something to push through for and Jess Sanchez, founder of Colombian-Canadian jewelry brand Santa Isla has a thing or two to say about purposeful commitment after building her business across the world for over a decade. Created with the Embera Chami (meaning people of the mountain in their traditional language) artisans of Colombia, Jess has fostered a community around her Colombian culture that shines light on this centuries old art form that she knows she can never stop supporting. We got the chance to speak with Jess about her ups and downs as an entrepreneur, how she has adapted the business over the years between multiple countries, the reality for anyone looking to start a business, and where she hopes to take the brand next. Read the full interview below! Hey Jess, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! For those who aren’t familiar, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business Santa Isla? Absolutely! So I'm Jess, the founder of Santa Isla which is a jewelry brand. Santa Isla is my love letter to Colombia. It's an exploration of where I come from, woven with my Canadian identity. I consider the pieces of Santa Isla little tokens of Colombia for everyone to wear and hold. All of the pieces are made with lovely Embera Chami artisans who weave spiritual intentions that you can hold and feel. Looking back at your Instagram, it seems the brand has been around for a while but evolved quite a bit throughout the years. How did it start and what was that evolution like? It started 12 years ago when I came across these Embera artisans in Colombia and really loved the bead work they had created. I bought two pieces and was wearing them around in all of the big cities in Colombia I was travelling to and so many people were asking me about the necklaces, what they were and where they came from. It was a bit dumbfounding to me, like "how can something that comes from here and is so rooted in our heritage be so unknown to so many of our people" and it pushed me to spend more time learning about this craft and the history behind it and made me want to make some of them myself. I spent a lot of time trying to find and connect with these Embera artisans to learn and once I did, that's where Santa Isla started; but it was a passion project, not meant as a business. To learn more about the Embera Chami, click here. For almost 8 years I was making really extravagant and large pieces but it wasn't until 2 years ago after a bit of a break during COVID that I started to pivot to merge these traditional techniques with more fashion-forward designs like rings, anklets and necklaces that are the driver of the brand now. Wow, so you've really put in the time to build this! Absolutely. As an entrepreneur, you have to put in the time. I understand that the time part isn't very sexy. We don't want things to take time. We want them to move but unfortunately - or maybe fortunately - it's really an exercise in patience. You really have to put in the time to get to know your business and your offering and then you can't stop. You spoke about this fairly significant pivot from more traditional to fashion-forward pieces. What was the reason for that shift? After so many years of creating these traditional pieces, which were mostly bought as display or art pieces, I decided I wanted the brand to be more accessible and in order to do that, I had to change the offering. Once I started getting into smaller, more fun and easy to wear pieces, it completely changed things for the brand. Was it scary making such a big change like that? I've had so many moments of doubt and asking myself, like "what am I doing" but I think that those moments of reflection are really important. As an entrepreneur, there are going to be so many moments where something isn't working but you can't stop; but you can pivot! The place you start might not always be the place you finish and that's ok. The important thing though is just don't stop. We love a brand with purpose and it seems that Santa Isla is exactly that. Can you speak more about that connection with the Embera Chami artisans and the part it plays in the brand? That is everything for me. That is my "why". For a brand, I think that your story is everything. Running a business is not easy but it's much easier to stick with it when there's something attached to it that's outside of you. Working with and supporting these artisans is the only reason that I've kept going after all of these years. It was hard and for a long time I wasn't making money but I kept on going because these people are amazing and they've been helping me learn more about my identity so how can I not continue to give back. As Santa Isla grows, where do you hope to see the brand go long term? If there was another brand I had to compare Santa Isla to, I'd want it to become like a Telfar where everybody has one, and it's cool that everybody has one. I want us to be worldwide with drops selling out and me being able to get Santa Isla into the hands of everyone, being accessible. I want it to be the marker of a community where everyone is proudly wearing Santa Isla and supporting this culture. Love that! Lastly, on your crazy journey with the brand, what is one piece of advice you'd give to an emerging entrepreneur? If you're ever feeling stuck or down, go help somebody! Even with a simple compliment, it can change people's attitudes and if you can find ways to then weave that into your business, it changes the game and can be a big motivator for you to keep going. If you want to become a part of the Santa Isla community, make sure to follow them on Instagram for news on all of the brands upcoming drops and keep it locked to Pier Five for more conversations with creative entrepreneurs coming soon!

Ball Talk With Albert Nguyen of Double Dribble After decades of creative work for many of Canada's coolest brands and designers, it's inevitable that the urge to one day do your own thing will eventually kick in. But how do you do it right and when is the right time? For Montreal based designer and artist Albert Nguyen who has worked on clients like Raised By Wolves, Nike, SSENSE, 88Rising, The Bay and many others, that urge set in via his love for street culture and basketball and you know we had to jump in for the story! Albert is no stranger to Pier Five - check out his first interview here - and it was great to catch up with him to learn about his new brand and first full independent venture, Double Dribble. Check out the conversation below. Photo Credits: Photo + Direction: @jgandshi (@time_of_the_sun x @commedesbatards) Hair and Makeup: @axelkamali@belovedbiaziza Models: @goldeneisha@ismabrass_n54 Hey Albert - great to have you back! You've worked on so many cool projects in the past. What drove you to start your own as Double Dribble? For a long time I just really loved being the ideas guy and the designer for clients that I really respected and admired. A lot of creatives that I know will work freelance and their own thing at the same time but to be honest, having my own thing never really occurred to me or didn't make sense. I love clothing and design but I never wanted my own namesake label. Double Dribble was first conceived through a t-shirt I worked on for The Letterbet for the 2019/2020 NBA Season but never really built out after that. This year I just started thinking about doing my own thing more and I liked the vibe of that t-shirt and how it didn't take itself too seriously. For me to start something on my own, it couldn't be too serious, in a way, or I wouldn't enjoy it. So, what exactly is Double Dribble now? A clothing brand? Something more? It's definitely a clothing brand first but I do want to do more with it soon. The clothing is just an entry point but I really want Double Dribble to become this basketball led community initiative with pickup runs in Montreal - and maybe other cities afterwards - as well as fundraisers, programming for women and children through basketball and I'm also working on a book! Very cool! How do you feel the basketball scene in Montreal is right now? There's definitely room to improve! I see a much bigger basketball scene in Toronto or Vancouver. Soccer is like what basketball is in those cities here in Montreal but a lot of people out here play. Not a lot of parks have basketball hoops here so that's one barrier. Canada is becoming such a big basketball country now so I want Montreal to be a part of that. So starting with clothing, what is the design inspiration behind the products? Although I don't personally skateboard, I'm really inspired by skateboard culture and how it has become so engrained into pop culture so, naturally, that had an influence on this. I wanted this to feel like a skate brand for basketball and keep things fun and lighthearted. Most of the graphics are inspired by old sport logos from the 90's and early 2000's. I kept it rather simple for the initial launch and I plan on bringing in more graphics and different pieces down the line. I don't want to be that brand that only makes a few of their pieces and nobody can get it. I want everyone to purchase Double dribble and be excited to rock it. How often do you plan on releasing new products? So instead of regular drops or following a fashion calendar, I'm going to follow the basketball calendar. I launched when the NBA season started, I'll have a drop for All-Star Weekend in February, a drop for playoffs, the finals, etc. I think it's a fun and unique way to do things and really keeps the focus on basketball. My biggest thing for releases though is I want the brand to be accessible. I don't want to be a cool guy brand. I don't want to be that brand that only makes a few of their pieces and nobody can get it. I want everyone to purchase Double dribble and be excited to rock it. Are you still playing basketball these days? I'm not - and it kills me. I had a bad injury not too long ago that stopped me from playing which is so hard for me. Basketball was everything for me from the moment I can remember. I played so much, it was engrained in my fashion choices, it led to the people I became best friends with and it inspired so much of my work. Now I hope to at least be able to use Double Dribble to create an avenue for others to play and meet through the sport. That's too bad! You make a good point about basketball being such a strong channel to bring people together. That's so true! Absolutely! Sports in general are so great for that. Basketball especially from all industries. It connected fashion to sports through Jordan and Nike, it connected with skateboarding, it connected with music. It's also influencing how I build my team and work with people. I treat it like putting together a starting five. I think about what I'm good at and where I'm lacking and then bring in my guards, my shooters, my centers etc who can help me create something killer and operate like a well oiled machine. That's a great analogy. We're excited to see what you and your "team" accomplish soon! What would you say is the long term goal for Double Dribble? I just want it to bring more basketball into the community here and continue to build greater communities all over the world one day. That might be through clothing, charity work, books, or other stuff. I'm still early to this and figuring it out but I love basketball and would be happy to see Double Dribble share that love with more people I love. Follow Double Dribble on Instagram for updates on their new drops and some of the best basketball content and keep it locked to Pier Five for more conversations with creatives like Albert coming soon!

Privacy Policy (Click here for French) Last modified: December 2022 INTRODUCTION Pier Five and our affiliates and subsidiaries (“Company” or “We”) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy. This policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect the personal information of our customers and website users (“you“), describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the website www.pier-five.com (our “Website“), and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. We will only use your personal information in accordance with this policy unless otherwise required by applicable law. We take steps to ensure that the personal information that we collect about you is adequate, relevant, not excessive, and used for limited purposes. Privacy laws in Canada generally define “personal information” as any information about an identifiable individual, which includes information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person. Personal information does not include business contact information, including your name, title, or business contact numbers. This policy applies to information we collect, use, or disclose about our customers and Website users: On this Website. In email, text, and other electronic messages between you and this Website. When you interact with our advertising and applications on third-party websites and services if those applications or advertising include links to this policy. On our social media pages and profiles, including Facebook and Instagram. The Website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, services, social networks, or applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow the third party to collect or share data about you. If you follow a link to a third-party website or engage a third-party plugin, please note that these third parties have their own privacy policies and we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. We do not control these third-party websites, and we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit. This policy does not apply to information collected by any third party, through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or on the Website. Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices for collecting, processing, and storing your information. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use our Website. By accessing or using this Website, you indicate that you understand, accept, and consent to the practices described in this policy. This policy may change from time to time (see Changes to Our Privacy Policy). Your continued use of this Website after we make changes indicates that you accept and consent to those changes, so please check the policy periodically for updates. INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU We collect and use several types of information from and about you, including: Personal information, that we can reasonably use to directly or indirectly identify you, such as your name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, age, occupation, gender, income, interests, social media handles, Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, user name or other similar identifier, billing and account information, and any other identifier we may use to contact you online or offline (“personal information“). We provide an opportunity for any user to unsubscribe from our newsletter or opt-out of contact for marketing purposes, including event invitations and surveys, on an ongoing basis by accessing our Website or using the unsubscribe mechanism at the bottom of our e-mails. Non-personal information, that does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity or directly relate to an identified individual, such as demographic information, or statistical or aggregated information. Statistical or aggregated data does not directly identify a specific person, but we may derive non-personal statistical or aggregated data from personal information. For example, we may aggregate personal information to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific Website feature. Technical information, including your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, or information about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Website, and usage details. Non-personal details about your Website interactions, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), clickstream to, through and from our Website (including date and time), products you viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page, or any phone number used to call our customer service number. Consent is required for the collection of personal information and the subsequent use or disclosure of this information. In order for us to receive personal information from you and allow us to provide you with a requested product or service, your consent to allow us to use that personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy will be obtained before the submission of such personal information. When you are entering any information on a form on our Website, you will be required to confirm by way of checking a box that you have read and agreed to the terms of this Privacy Policy. Only after such box is checked, will your personal information included in the form be provided to us. If you need to provide personal information about other individuals, you must first obtain their consent for these purposes prior to your disclosure to us. Providing us with your personal information is always your choice. When you request services from us, we ask that you provide information that enables us to provide those services to the best of our abilities. You will be authorizing us to use and retain this personal information for as long as it may be required for the purposes described in this policy. Your consent remains valid even after the termination of our relationship with you, unless you provide us with written notice that such consent is withdrawn in accordance with this policy. By withdrawing your consent, or not providing it in the first place, you may limit or even prevent us from being able to provide you or an authorized third party with the products or services desired. HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT YOU We use different methods to collect your information, including through: Direct interactions with you when you provide it to us, for example, by filling in forms or corresponding with us by phone, email, or otherwise. User contributions. You may also provide information for us to publish or display on public Website areas or transmit to other Website users or third parties. Automated technologies or interactions, as you navigate through our Website. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies. Information You Provide to Us The information we collect directly from you on or through our Website may include: Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Website. This includes information provided at the time of subscribing to our newsletter or magazine, posting material, or requesting further information about our services. We may also ask you for information when you enter a contest or promotion sponsored by us, and when you report a problem with our Website. Records and copies of your correspondence (including email addresses), if you contact us. Your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes. Details of transactions you carry out through our Website and of the fulfillment of your subscription. You may be required to provide financial information before placing an order for our magazine through our Website. Your search queries on the Website. Information We Collect Through Cookies and Other Automatic Data Collection Technologies As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use cookies or other automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including: Details of your visits to our Website, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Website. Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type. We may also use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking). To learn more or to opt-out of tailored advertising please visit Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada Opt-Out Tool for information on how you can opt out of behavioral tracking on this Website and how we respond to web browser signals and other mechanisms that enable consumers to exercise choice about behavioral tracking. The information we collect automatically is statistical information and may include personal information and we maintain it or associate it with personal information we collect in other ways, that you provide to us, or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to: Estimate our audience size and usage patterns. Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to your individual interests. Speed up your searches. Recognize you when you return to our Website. The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include: Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website. Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Website may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from, and on our Website. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings that are used for browser cookies. For information about managing your privacy and security settings for Flash cookies, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information. Web Beacons. Pages of our Website and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity). HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information: To present our Website and its contents to you. To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us. To fulfill the purposes for which you provided the information or that were described when it was collected, or any other purpose for which you provide it. To provide you with notices about your subscription, including expiration and renewal notices. To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts with you, including for billing and collection or to comply with legal requirements. To notify you about changes to our Website or any products or services we offer or provide though it. To improve our Website, products or services, marketing, or customer relationships and experiences. To allow you to participate in interactive features, social media, or similar features on our Website. To measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you. In any other way we may describe when you provide the information. For any other purpose with your consent. We may also use your information to contact you about our own and third-parties’ goods and services that may be of interest to you, as permitted by law. If you do not want us to use your information in this way, please use the unsubscribe mechanism at the bottom of our e-mails. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction. We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this privacy policy: To our subsidiaries, affiliates and business partners To third parties to market their products or services to you if you have not opted out of these disclosures. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information. To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business (such as analytics and search engine providers that assist us with Website improvement and optimization) and who are contractually obligated to keep personal information confidential, use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them, and to process the personal information with the same standards set out in this policy. For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information. With your consent. We may also disclose your personal information: To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request, in accordance with applicable law. To enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes. If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our customers, or others. TRANSFERRING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION We may transfer personal information that we collect or that you provide as described in this policy to contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business (such as analytics and search engine providers that assist us with Website improvement and optimization) and who are contractually obligated to keep personal information confidential, use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them, and to process the personal information with the same standards set out in this policy. We currently process and store you personal information in Canada. In the future, however, we, or third parties to whom your personal information has been provided in accordance with this policy, may process, store, and transfer your personal information in and to a foreign country, with different privacy laws that may or may not be as comprehensive as Canadian law. In these circumstances, the governments, courts, law enforcement, or regulatory agencies of that country may be able to obtain access to your personal information through the laws of the foreign country. Whenever we engage a service provider, we require that its privacy and security standards adhere to this policy and applicable Canadian privacy legislation. You are welcome to contact us to obtain further information about Company policies regarding service providers outside of Canada. See Contact Information and Challenging Compliance. By submitting your personal information or engaging with the Website, you consent to this transfer, storage, or processing. CHOICES ABOUT HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information: Tracking Technologies and Advertising. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobe’s website. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this Website may not be accessible or may not function properly. For more information about tracking technologies, see Information We Collect Through Cookies and Other Automatic Data Collection Technologies. Third-Party Advertising. If you do not want us to share your personal information with unaffiliated or non-agent third parties for promotional purposes, you can opt-out by using the unsubscribe mechanism in our emails or at the bottom of this page. Promotional Offers from the Company. If you have opted in to receive certain emails from us but no longer wish to have your email address used by the Company to promote our own or third parties’ products or services, you can opt-out by using the unsubscribe mechanism in our emails or at the bottom of this page. If we have sent you a promotional email, you may unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe link we have included in the email. This opt-out does not apply to information provided to the Company as part of a product purchase, warranty registration, product service experience, or other transactions. Targeted Advertising. If you do not want us to use information that we collect or that you provide to us to deliver advertisements according to our advertisers’ target-audience preferences, you can opt out by using the unsubscribe mechanism in our emails or at the bottom of this page. DATA SECURITY The security of your personal information is very important to us. We use physical, electronic, and administrative measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. We make the effort to train our employees and make them aware of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information. Our employees are required to maintain confidentiality and may not use the information for any unauthorized purpose. Only our employees with a business need to know, or whose duties reasonably so require, are granted access to your personal information. The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website. DATA RETENTION Except as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law or regulation, we will retain your personal information indefinitely, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Under some circumstances we may anonymize your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you. We reserve the right to use such anonymous and de-identified data for any legitimate business purpose without further notice to you or your consent. ACCESSING AND CORRECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes. By law you have the right to request access to and to correct the personal information that we hold about you. If you want to review, verify, correct, or withdraw consent to the use of your personal information you may also send us an email at community@pier-five.com to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information that you have provided to us. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect. We may request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and your right to access, and to provide you with the personal information that we hold about you or make your requested changes. Applicable law may allow or require us to refuse to provide you with access to some or all of the personal information that we hold about you, or we may have destroyed, erased, or made your personal information anonymous in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices. If we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, we will inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions. We will provide access to your personal information, subject to exceptions set out in applicable privacy legislation. Examples of such exceptions include: Information protected by solicitor-client privilege. Information that is part of a formal dispute resolution process. Information that is about another individual that would reveal their personal information or confidential commercial information. Information that is prohibitively expensive to provide. If you are concerned about our response or would like to correct the information provided, you may contact our team at community@pier-five.com . WITHDRAWING YOUR CONSENT Where you have provided your consent to the collection, use, and transfer of your personal information, you may have the legal right to withdraw your consent under certain circumstances. To withdraw your consent, if applicable, contact us at community@pier-five.com . Please note that if you withdraw your consent we may not be able to provide you with a particular product or service. We will explain the impact to you at the time to help you with your decision. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY It is our policy to post any changes we make to our privacy policy on this page with a notice that the privacy policy has been updated on the Website home page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we will notify you by email to the email address specified in your account and through a notice on the Website home page. We include the date the privacy policy was last revised at the top of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date, active, and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Website and this privacy policy to check for any changes. CONTACT INFORMATION AND CHALLENGING COMPLIANCE We welcome your questions, comments, and requests regarding this privacy policy and our privacy practices. Please contact us at: community@pier-five.com Attention: Pier Five Team We have procedures in place to receive and respond to complaints or inquiries about our handling of personal information, our compliance with this policy, and with applicable privacy laws. To discuss our compliance with this policy please contact community@pier-five.com using the contact information listed above.