Access funding for your small business or creative project in Canada from Pier Five. Pier Five Funding Programs We know how important access to capital can be as you launch and scale your business. With the help of our community and brand partners, Pier Five has helped connect Canadian business owners with $250,000 CAD in support and funding since 2022. If you are an organization interested in working with Pier Five to support emerging small business owners, send us an email at community@pier-five.com ! Pier Five x Intak Printing Activation Grant (Apply Now) Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund Pier Five Creators Grant

5 Small Business Tax Strategies To Save You Money PIER FIVE COMMUNITY DINNERS LEARN MORE Latest Posts Catch up with our latest conversations and events. Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Mastercard x Pier Five's 2024/25 Priceless Experience Mar 2 Pier Five’s 2024 End-of-Year Celebration Dec 17, 2024 Celebrating Creativity and Community at the OOAK Show '24 Dec 5, 2024 5-Tips On Brand Building From Kuwalla Tee's Founder Yaniv Abecassis Nov 26, 2024 Toronto Community Court Day Recap: A Slam Dunk Success Oct 21, 2024 Pier Five Community Canvas For Kuwalla Tee Sep 25, 2024 Community Court Day MTL: Pier Five x PUMA x Ball Her Way x Double Dribble Sep 22, 2024 Pier Five Community Dinner: Volume 1 Jul 31, 2024 Your Number One Resource With Nishal Kumar of No Days Wasted Apr 24, 2024 Playing the Game Better With Drew Stevens of Margin Skincare Mar 11, 2024 Doing It Yourself With Carol Pak of Makku Feb 7, 2024 Creating Your Identity With Jun Arnaiz of Neutria Jan 9, 2024 Explore All Guests

Small Business Activation Grant General Rules 1. Eligibility 1.1 The Pier Five x Intak Printing Activation Grant ("Grant") is open to individuals and businesses that meet the eligibility requirements outlined in the application guidelines. 1.2 Applicants must be legal residents of Canada and at least 18 years of age at the time of application. 1.3 Employees of Pier Five, Intak Printing, and their affiliates, as well as their immediate family members, are not eligible to apply. Apply to the Pier Five x Intak Printing Activation Grant here. 2. Application Process 2.1 Applications must be submitted within the designated application period, as stated in the grant timeline. 2.2 All information provided in the application must be accurate and complete. Pier Five reserves the right to disqualify any applicant providing false or misleading information. 2.3 By submitting an application, applicants consent to receive emails and communications from Pier Five and Intak Printing for marketing, promotional, and informational purposes. Applicants can opt out at any time. 3. Selection and Notification 3.1 Grant recipients will be selected based on criteria established by Pier Five and Intak Printing. 3.2 Finalists may be contacted for interviews as part of the selection process. 3.3 Selected recipients will be notified via email and must confirm their acceptance within a specified timeframe. Failure to respond within the given period may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate recipient. 4. Grant Activation and Use 4.1 The grant is intended for the recipient’s business activation and branding through Intak Printing services. 4.2 Recipients must complete the activation project within the timeframe specified in the grant agreement. 4.3 Pier Five and Intak Printing reserve the right to use the recipient’s name, business name, and activation details for promotional and marketing purposes. 5. Liability and Indemnification 5.1 Pier Five, Intak Printing, and their affiliates shall not be held liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising from the acceptance, use, or participation in the grant program. 5.2 Recipients acknowledge that participation in the activation project is at their own risk. 5.3 Recipients agree to indemnify and hold harmless Pier Five, Intak Printing, and their affiliates from any claims, damages, or losses arising from the activation project. 6. Modification and Termination 6.1 Pier Five and Intak Printing reserve the right to modify or terminate the grant program at any time without prior notice. 6.2 Any changes to these terms will be communicated to applicants and recipients via email or the official Pier Five website. 7. General Conditions 7.1 This grant is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash. 7.2 All decisions made by Pier Five and Intak Printing regarding the grant are final and binding. 7.3 These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and applicable Canadian laws. By submitting an application, applicants acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agree to these Terms and Conditions.

Finding That Secret Sauce With Tam Vu When you’re on a team, there is room to be comfortable. Once you’re out on your own, everything falls onto your shoulders. Depending on who you are, this can be daunting or extremely exciting. Vietnamese-Canadian artist Tam Vu sits on the side of excitement having set out on his own, only a little over a year ago, after spending most of his time with different teams in the creative fashion industry. Now on a mission to bring the stories of his native country to North America through a fashion and lifestyle goods import business and visual art, Tam is keeping very busy and having fun doing it. We had the pleasure of speaking with Tam about his business, setting out on his own, how he stays motivated and authentic through his work and his keys to finding the secret sauce that can take any creator to new heights. Hey Tam! Can you talk about the purpose behind your TKV business? I was starting to burn out at the design studio I was working at and it was difficult not to notice that the racist micro aggressions were becoming more and more overt in my daily life during the pandemic. Like, I know racism exists. It didn’t go away while I was too busy head-down-pedal-to-the-metal working. I faced micro aggressions on the daily – but I had learned to deal/cope with it by not giving it any energy otherwise I would just be angry all the time, and I just didn’t have the bandwidth, or personality, for that When the pandemic hit, like many others, I had the time and privilege to reflect on what was going on personally and professionally. This sounds so egocentric... but I thought about how unique and un-unique I was. My whole environment and context of being Vietnamese, being Canadian, belonging, not belonging, working in design and culture, skateboarding, basketball, my life experiences, language, code switching, on and on, makes me a unique person, but I also share a lot of the same challenges and experiences that other diaspora (Vietnamese or not) face. With this line of thinking, I wanted to create something for others like me. I wanted to create a framework that could both support an artistic practice and also support my golf addiction… and to do it in a way that I could still sleep at night. I wanted to create something that I never had when I was younger, something Vietnamese, something ______, something in-between, something – maybe not to look up to – but just something that existed. I want a 12 year old me to look at this project and be like WOW this is so sick, but also if the 12 year old me sees this project and thinks WOW this is so suck, I can do this, but better. That for me, is just as amazing. That’s why it was important to have my Vietnamese name be front facing, so people know – it’s Vietnamese. I don’t know, the long and short of it is exactly that, exactly the name, TKV® Business & Fine Arts. It’s just biz and sometimes it’s not. Do you find that the import business and the art business work together or are they more separate? They definitely work together. The imports help support my art practice and the art practice helps support the business. They go hand in hand. I have a flowchart that I made for myself when I was launching the project that I’ll refer to from time to time that outlines exactly how. It was important for me to create a financial framework where the business side and my art practice could sustain themselves independently of each other. I didn’t want to be put in a position where I had to make weird business decisions to fund an art project, or not be able to make a project because of a lack of funds. I don’t know – even the business side is an art project in itself. At the end of the day, it all works together in one bank account and stews in one brain, so it is what it is. Photo: Ryan Lebel How do you choose which products to import for that portion of TKV? Intuition? A lot of these items are goods that I’ve been drawn to from a young age when I would go to Vietnam. I always liked the slides, dép tổ ong, and learned through my community and family about their cultural significance. There’s no How It’s Made or Wikipedia page on them, the slides have an oral history and I am happy to share this history through TKV. This same thinking is applied to the work suits that I import, the stools, the fans, the bags. These are all common place products in Vietnam – and I love being able to share their significance to a wider audience. The suits are wild. They are labourer uniforms for blue collar workers, made all over Vietnam in hundreds of different colours and materials. The crazy thing is – from factory to factory throughout Vietnam, it’s the same pattern, same cut, same everything, same every time. Having worked in apparel production domestically, I know from experience, even having production replicate a pattern, THAT THEY MADE, is sometimes a harrowing experience. The stools are amazing, it’s like Vietnam’s monobloc chair. Cheaply made, abundant, honestly beautiful. I love going to a food stand and this is what everyone is sitting on. Obama and Bourdain sat on the XL version, but still, same same. These are products that resonated with me and through this project I get to investigate why. When you land on my website – you get all the research, all the why’s and what I’ve found. I invite you to investigate the why’s with me and hope you fall in love with the items too. Or you just like the colour, that’s fine too. Photo: Ryan Lebel What have you learned from launching the project? I learned that you need to try, to try. It’s easy to get stuck trying to perfect the sauce, or what you think is the perfect sauce, but at the end of the day you need to be able to open the restaurant. And if you don’t want to turn on the restaurant OPEN light, at least open the door. You need to be able to do it and to keep it moving. I learn something from everything I do, good and bad. Sometimes I like the feeling of being scared, standing on the top of the cliff getting ready to jump in the water. I’ll stand there for a while, and think about how scared I am, and how cool it is that I am so scared, because how often in life do I feel this scared. Then I jump. The trick for me is acknowledging that I’m scared but that I still need to do it, because I don’t want to climb back down the cliff, dry, and all my friends are there, and they will all post stories on IG that I didn’t jump, and they will laugh, but in a supportive way, and I will feel sheepish, and regret that I didn’t try. I know sometimes this is easier said than done but you really just have to do it. It’ll say on my gravestone “At least he tried” [laughs]. Couldn’t agree more with that. Let’s talk about the art side more. You recently exhibited ‘Their Country’ in Montreal, a painting series which depicts your interpretations of your family’s stories of immigration and painted by painters in Vietnam. Was it challenging working with painters overseas and why was it important for you to pursue that path? So, those painters actually lived three blocks away from my family home in HCMC. I used to walk by them every day and so the communication wasn’t really any more challenging than speaking with apparel suppliers overseas. Being able to speak Vietnamese obviously helped as well. It was important for me to work with the painters in HCMC because they were an integral part of the artworks. The paintings are the “art objects” but the entire process is the art. The communications through the supply chain to make the paintings, the conversations with my family, the translation of the memories, these are the vital and critical parts of the work. For me, outsourcing the paintings to oil painters in Vietnam was not a means to find cheap labour, but to engage the Vietnamese painters into an artwork that also speaks to their experiences and perspectives. The War impacted an entire population and continues to have ripple effects through generations and isn’t bound by geographic borders. The conversations that emerged from these paintings are extremely valuable to me. What was the exhibition experience like? This was my first art show as an artist. It felt like a bootcamp putting everything together. There is some crossover from my previous work doing pop-ups and seeing what it takes to do that, but this is really another learning experience. I was able to see what worked, what didn’t work, what took too much energy, what needed more energy. It was low stakes enough that I could experiment with what felt right to me, but also high enough pressure that I didn’t want to fail. I often struggle a lot with perfectionism in my work but, with this, I really just put it out there and enjoyed myself. Shout out to the ARTCH exhibition team, Sarah, Margot, Myriam, as well as all the participating artists. Everyone was amazing. Well whatever you did, it definitely worked! You also have some other unique ventures in the works; Cheers Mate Soda & Piano Golf. What’s the story behind these? With Piano Golf I wanted to find a way to bring a new perspective to golf. It always felt out of reach with huge cultural barriers. During the pandemic I got into it, and found that it had so many similarities to things that I loved like being outside, competing against myself, hitting a ball. In a way it felt a lot like skateboarding, like knowing where your body is in space, trying the same motion over and over again. Once again, I found that there wasn’t anything out in the golf world that really connected with me. I started this fun business (emphasis on fun) with my friends Myles Perkins and Dylan Bourdeau, it’s a way to intersect golf with other aspects of our interests. Plus it was a way to find more excuses to golf. Cheers Mate (mah-teh) Yerba Soda is an opportunity that presented itself to me at a time where I was looking to work on a project that was a little more biz focused. It’s still in its infancy, a classic – we’ve opened the door to the restaurant but the OPEN sign is not on yet. It’s been a great experience working on this project so far and I’m looking forward to where it’ll lead next… cheers! In an age where everything we see on social media is so calculated, you seem to just have fun with it and post whatever is on your mind. How do you feel about the current state of social media and do you think we all need to be a bit more chill? When I was getting ready to launch TKV® Business & Fine Arts, I put so much time and thought into how my Instagram was going to be, and look and feel, and had this realization like, damn – if I stress like this every time I need to make a post or story, it’s going to be horrible. How do I find a way to make this easy? So I just really post what I think is funny, pertinent and easy, and if my business fails because of this – then there are bigger issues with my business than that. Some of the content have planning behind them, but I do that because I enjoy it – and because I feel like it’s important to tell a certain story a certain way. Honestly I’m just trying to try here. For others, it’s so subjective and so hard for me to say what others should do. People should just do what is comfortable for them. Feel that! Before we let you go, what’s next for Tam Vu? Well, I’m going home to have dinner and that’s exciting [laughs]. I am moving into a new studio which I’m super excited for. I’m going to be setting up a showroom and a space where I can execute more stuff. A severe lockdown mandate in Vietnam was just lifted, so a lot of things are about to start coming in. The supply chain is still a mess, so a 3-4 month forecast is murky, but I have the next few collections and coloured suits coming in. I received some funding to do some more paintings and have some other art projects on the horizon too. I also just received a hand me down golf simulator, so hopefully this will keep me busy over the winter. I’m also learning to play piano… The winter is usually my most productive time… I try to stave off the winter blues this way. Check out Tam's Instagram for news on his upcoming releases and hit the TKV Shop to cop some sweet Vietnamese gear. Keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest entrepreneurs, designers, artists, activists and more.

Community Court Day MTL: Pier Five x PUMA x Ball Her Way x Double Dribble On September 7, 2024, Pier Five, alongside Double Dribble , Ball Her Way , and PUMA , hosted an unforgettable event celebrating Montreal’s vibrant basketball community – “Community Court Day”. This collaborative event brought together 25 inspiring individuals from Ball Her Way and Double Dribble's ongoing pickup runs "Run & Jump" for an afternoon filled with basketball, networking, and thoughtful discussions. From start to finish, the event perfectly blended the worlds of sports and creativity, making it a day to remember for everyone involved. The event started with a surprise for all attendees; a full new basketball kit generously provided by PUMA. The new gear was an instant hit, setting the tone for an afternoon where everyone felt empowered to perform their best on the court. The basketball action began with a series of drills and warm-ups led by Ball Her Way founder and experienced coach, Heather Alonzo , where participants showed off their skills and got a chance to connect through the love of the game. The intensity picked up with 5v5 games that brought out the competitive spirit, yet fostered a deep sense of camaraderie. As Albert Nguyen , founder of Double Dribble likes to say, it's "the nicest basketball run in Montreal!" Whether seasoned players or newcomers, everyone took to the court with enthusiasm, making the games a true highlight of the day. But the event wasn’t just about basketball. Pier Five, Double Dribble, and Ball Her Way curated meaningful discussions and networking opportunities, allowing participants from diverse backgrounds—business owners, designers, artists, lawyers, social workers, and more—to share their stories and build lasting connections. These connections were full of energy and inspiration, as attendees explored the intersections of sports, entrepreneurship, and community impact. With the support of leading basketball brands and community leaders in Montreal, Community Court Day was a huge success. The collaborative spirit of Pier Five, Double Dribble, Ball Her Way, and PUMA came to life in this dynamic event, leaving everyone excited for future opportunities to engage with the basketball and creative communities. Pier Five was truly honoured to be back in Montreal, continuing its mission of bringing unique, engaging events to cities across Canada. The event captured the essence of what Pier Five stands for—fostering creativity, connection, and collaboration through unforgettable experiences. With so much excitement around “Community Court Day,” it’s safe to say that the future holds even more thrilling events from Pier Five and its partners. If you're interested in getting involved on an event with Pier Five, either as a guest or a partner, follow us on Instagram or email us at community@pier-five.com !

2024 Recipient: Bruized Explore the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund Introducing Bruized, one of the ten recipients of the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund 2024! Founders: Monique Chan & Justice Walz Location: Toronto, ON Discover Bruized online: Website // Instagram About Bruized Bruized is a women-led company on a mission to fight food waste through education and sustainable snacks. They rescue surplus food and upcycle it into plant-based, gluten-free treats like their Pulp Crunch clusters and freshly baked cookies. To date, Bruized has saved over 5,642 lbs of produce, working with partners like FresHouse Juicery and Village Juicery while selling their products through local retailers and farmers' markets. They’ve secured $70,000 in grants and have been featured in outlets like the Toronto Star and Elle Gourmet, as well as speaking at events like COP15. Beyond selling snacks, Bruized aims to inspire collective action toward reducing food waste and embracing imperfect ingredients. How will the fund make an impact with your business? We’re currently stuck in the day-to-day operations of crafting and selling our products, leaving us without the capacity to focus on strategic growth or the educational and community aspects that inspired Bruized. With high demand for our sustainable snacks, our biggest challenge is breaking this cycle by growing our team to meet product demand while creating space to expand our mission. This fund will allow us to hire and train a part-time team member, increasing our production capacity and ensuring ethical pay. This additional support would help us fulfill larger orders, reduce more food waste, and dedicate more time to engaging and educating our community. What is your long term goal for the company? A long-term goal for Bruized is to expand beyond selling products by focusing on education and community-building through initiatives like ‘fulCircle,’ Toronto’s sustainability collective. This year, we hosted Supper Club events that used surplus produce, partnered with local chefs, and sparked meaningful conversations about food systems. Moving forward, we aim to partner with farmer’s markets to rescue surplus produce and create Bruized Boxes—affordable packages of fresh, local goods that prevent food waste. By fostering collaboration and education, we hope to strengthen food systems and reconnect people with the stories behind their food. Learn more about the Mastercard & Pier Five Small Business Fund, and discover the other 2024 recipients here .

A Conversation with Sylvia Hoang of Studio S Over the last 12 months, creativity has been on the rise and DIY projects became the new norm. For this special interview, we caught up with Toronto based artist and one of Complex Canada’s Top 30 Female Designers Sylvia Hoang, owner of Studio S, a creative brand founded on the ethos of “doing it yourself”. Coming off of a strong launch with her streetwear inspired concrete home goods collection and most recently a tasteful apparel release perfect for the spring & summer months, Sylvia has been on a roll and has a positive attitude that is taking her to great heights. @studio.sylvia Hey Sylvia! For those who may not be familiar, tell us a bit about yourself. Hey! So excited to be speaking with you. So, I’m Sylvia and I’m a fashion student at Ryerson University in Toronto, a freelance graphic designer and the founder of Studio S, my home goods and now fashion brand. My entire life I’ve been surrounded by art and started studying art in my early teens. I’ve had incredible opportunities to explore clothing & product design, event planning, retail & merchandising and so much more which has allowed me to work in so many different mediums and led me to where I am today with Studio S. Right now I’m really excited about sculpture and working with concrete which is what kicked off Studio S and I just launched an apparel collection called “The Forest Hill Collection”. I also love biking in the city and my favourite ice cream flavour is Vietnamese coffee ice cream! Oh so good! Most people that start brands might begin with something more common like t-shirts or hats. Why was it important for you to do something unique like concrete home goods right out of the gate? While I studied fashion, I took a lot of art history and architecture courses which spawned a huge interest in industrial design. After working with print and digital for so long, I wanted to work with a new medium and making functional and aesthetic 3D objects was really exciting to me. I hadn't ever worked with concrete but I had some conversations with Toronto creative Natalya Amres who is amazing and she really pushed me to give it a shot. With this brand I really just want to experiment with all mediums and this one was a ton of fun to learn about and work on. Speaking of creatives, who are you inspired by and how, if at all, did that influence your first collection? First and foremost, my grandfather has always been a huge inspiration to me. He’s a self taught artist who grew up in China and taught himself how to paint, draw and play five different instruments. From a young age, I’ve always looked up to him. I mentioned her before but Natalya Amres is always a big one being from Toronto. She’s been an awesome contact to have as I start my journey. Daniel Arsham and Matt Williams of Alyx are also huge inspirations for me; Daniel Arsham for his large scale sculpture works and MW for his sleek, dark aesthetic. Lastly, the entire creative community in Toronto that I’ve watched and met parts of is so inspiring. Seeing everyone do their own thing and make their own lane is exactly what I want to be a part of. We’re sure people are interested, so can you walk us through the process of creating your concrete collection? Absolutely! Firstly, I knew I wanted it to be sneakers and streetwear inspired which is how I landed on the nike swoosh, Murakami flowers and more recently the Nike and Jordan sneakers. To make it all happen: Drawing . I drew the concepts a bunch of times first to get an idea of what I’d want to make. Clay modelling . I used modelling clay to make the 3D shapes so I can get a good feel for the pieces. It usually takes a lot of clay iterations until I’m happy with the design. 3D Printing . I was luckily able to find a great local 3D printer who I work with to make the prototypes. Usually there are a couple iterations but I try to prep with clay and work on digital renderings to reduce the number of 3D printed models which can be expensive to make. Making the molds . Once the 3D prints are done I bring them to my friend who can help me make molds of the pieces. Lastly, once I have the molds I fill the molds with concrete and let the pieces sit to dry. This usually takes anywhere from a couple hours for the small pieces to a couple days for the big ones. It was fun experimenting with the different types of concrete mixes to find the perfect one from a texture and colour standpoint. This is super interesting and we love to see the process. On to the apparel launch, tell us about the inspiration for your recent Forest Hill Collection. This was actually my first time getting into apparel and it was a lot of fun and learning. This collection was dedicated to personal growth and for me it served as another reminder that it’s ok to keep trying new things. I started planning the collection in January and it took some time to find the right suppliers and understand the supply chain for apparel first hand. Luckily my roommate runs an embroidery business so that helped with the decoration part but it wasn't easy at first to source all the apparel I wanted. Design wise, I wanted to make something fun and a little different than classic colours like black, white and grey, even though that’s my normal aesthetic. I love forest green and wanted to make something lively for spring and summer and thought the green/gold aesthetic was great for that! Love that! Any tips or things you learned along the way that others might find useful when starting their own brand? The first thing I learned is that communication skills are key . The Studio S projects were the first time I really started working with other people like printers, other artists, suppliers, etc and I had to learn how to speak their language to get things done. I also think patience is important , understanding that new things take time and practice. Things won’t always be perfect on the first try or maybe suppliers won’t always have what you need but being patient and testing a lot will get you where you want to be. Trust the process and have fun with it. This is great advice! Lastly, while you’re just coming off of a big launch, any idea what’s next for Studio S? When we get closer to the fall I really want to start experimenting with outerwear like maybe a varsity jacket. I think that would be a challenging project but I love those vintage varsity jackets and the BBC Ice Cream varsities so I think making one of those would be really cool. I also have been ideating a personal project that will involve the community and concrete at a large scale. This one is in the ideation phase right now so I can’t share too much but if I can rally some people, it will be very cool and bring concrete and plants to a new level! To keep up with Sylvia & Studio S, check out her Instagram and latest drops available on her website and keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest designers, artists, activists, entrepreneurs and more.

Interviews Explore conversations with our esteemed guests from around the world. Business (80) 80 posts Art & Design (64) 64 posts Streetwear (62) 62 posts Sneakers (43) 43 posts Wellness (27) 27 posts Food (18) 18 posts Sports (18) 18 posts Activism (17) 17 posts Photography (16) 16 posts Music (12) 12 posts 5-Tips On Brand Building From Kuwalla Tee's Founder Yaniv Abecassis Nov 26, 2024 Playing the Game Better With Drew Stevens of Margin Skincare Mar 11, 2024 Doing It Yourself With Carol Pak of Makku Feb 7, 2024 Keeping It Authentic With Katherine Johnsen Feb 16, 2023 Dancing Through The Yarn With Trish Andersen Dec 17, 2021 From The Streets To The Big Stage With Kizmet Dec 10, 2021 Behind The Curtain With Nicko Bruno Dec 6, 2021 A Conversation With Ostrya Equipment Nov 24, 2021 A Conversation With Estudio Niksen Nov 14, 2021 A Conversation With Photographer Wade Hudson Nov 4, 2021 A Studio Visit With Simon Petepiece Oct 27, 2021 Finding That Secret Sauce With Tam Vu Oct 22, 2021 A Conversation With Daniel and Caleb of Circle Author Oct 19, 2021 A Day In Montreal With LeBicar Oct 14, 2021 A Conversation With Kyron Warrick aka Gotsweige Oct 8, 2021 Behind The Brand With Gerard Cleal of norda Sep 24, 2021 A Conversation With Cal Green of Raised By Wolves Sep 21, 2021 Street Stylin’ With Editorial Boutique Sep 15, 2021 A Conversation With Albert Nguyen of Hudson's Bay Sep 8, 2021 norda x ciele "Cooper's Hawk" Launch Recap Sep 3, 2021 Never Too Comfortable With Louis-Martin Tremblay Aug 11, 2021 A Conversation With Garret "GMAN" Louie of TAIKAN Aug 4, 2021 A Conversation With Olivia Ho of The Give and Grow Jul 26, 2021 An Introduction to norda™ Jul 16, 2021 A Conversation With Carlos Ortiz of 8Point5 Agency Jul 6, 2021 Good Fashion Starts With Function w/ Jay Yoo Jun 19, 2021 A Conversation With Addam Rodriguez of The Arrivals Jun 11, 2021 The Tale Of A Sneakerhead Who Found Running Jun 4, 2021 A Conversation with Sylvia Hoang of Studio S May 22, 2021 Making It Personal w/ Watch Parts Motorcycles May 14, 2021 Developing Your Style Formula w/ Matthew Spade May 8, 2021 A Conversation with Jarah Stoop of Peterson Stoop Mar 27, 2021 A Conversation With Air Vegan Mar 20, 2021 A Conversation With Jazz Alba Mar 13, 2021 A Conversation With Vinyl Art Not A Toy Mar 6, 2021 A Conversation With Titi Finlay Feb 27, 2021 A Conversation With Liz Beecroft Feb 20, 2021 A Conversation With Post Design Collective Feb 13, 2021 A Conversation With Tara Miller of Health Hut Feb 6, 2021 A Conversation With Aran Raviandran of Get Fresh Company Jan 30, 2021 A Conversation With Obra.Jay Jan 23, 2021 A Conversation With Blume Jan 16, 2021 A Conversation With Tristan Banning Jan 12, 2021 A Conversation With Sean Go Jan 9, 2021 A Conversation With Cereal Artist Jan 5, 2021 A Conversation With Jon Elias of Lost & Found Jan 2, 2021 A Conversation With Kishan Mistry Dec 29, 2020 A Conversation With Julie Clark of Province Apothecary Dec 26, 2020 A Conversation With Chris Casuga of CNTRBND Dec 22, 2020 A Conversation With Florence Tang of Lot Stock & Barrel Dec 19, 2020

2022 Recipient: Parkerview Brews Kombucha Introducing Parkerview Brews Kombucha, one of the five recipients of the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund 2022! Who: Amy Kaban Where: Saskatoon, SK Instagram / Website In 2017, only a handful of kombucha brands were available in grocery stores. After trying all the kombucha Amy could get her hands on with little satisfaction, her natural inclination was to create her own! The goal was to brew kombucha that tasted better than existing ones - less tangy (vinegary), lightly sweetened, bubbly - and to incorporate local ingredients from Saskatchewan growers. Together with her husband, she began experimenting and created a kombucha that was better than any other brand she had tried previously. Today, Parkerview Brews Kombucha is the largest commercial kombucha brewery in Saskatchewan and can be found in 200+ stores across the province. The brand also has their own cafes and e-commerce making them a go-to destination for all things kombucha. Parkerview Brews is known for making kombucha that simply tastes great - it's sparkling, balanced in flavour and uses unique Saskatchewan ingredients like Saskatoon berries, sour cherries and chaga mushrooms. The business also supports local charities that help provide at-risk youth and families with food throughout the year. How has the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business fund helped you? Being a recipient of the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund has been a game change for our business. The $10,000 injection has allowed us to scale and get into canning, which has been a huge goal of ours. Having the opportunity to meet other women entrepreneurs has been amazing and also to get to meet with experts in their fields, providing us with advice and motivation and connecting us with resources is just the cherry on top. "When we support other small businesses, we are supporting our local economy. When customers support me, I'm able to then put my kids into another program or course that is being run by a small business owner, which is a beautiful thing." Learn more about the Mastercard & Pier Five Small Business Fund, and discover the other 2022 recipients here .

A New Chapter With Jason Faustino Of Saucony There's something about empowering emerging talents that really speaks to us at Pier Five and anytime we come across others in their field who are passionate about the same thing, we are immediately drawn to them. This was the case for Saucony collaborations manager Jason Faustino who has worked for the last 17 years to create opportunities for emerging talents, whether that was in his sneaker boutique Extra Butter or on footwear collaborations at Saucony. We got the chance to chat with Jason - hot off of his collab with our good friends Raised By Wolves - to discuss his journey through the sneaker industry, his vision for collabs, business tips for sneakerheads and his outlook on the future of sneaker drops in 2023. Hey Jason, thanks for chatting with us! For those who aren’t familiar, can you tell us about yourself and your role at Saucony? For sure! l'm Jason Faustino and I lead brand collaborations across Saucony Originals and Performance. Ive been with the brand for a little over 4 years. I work on the marketing side and am very involved with product getting to do a little bit of everything. Your history in sneakers goes way back, notably co-founding Extra Butter in 2007. Can you speak about your journey in the sneaker industry from them to now? While I was in school I used to break dance a lot near this mom & pop sneaker store and started working there and was learning a ton about those brands and products. I was doing everything, from stock room management, buying and advising on marketing strategies and without even realizing it, was getting a crash course on sneakers. While I was at the shop, I learned about Magic which is this major trade show in Vegas and used my credentials from the shop to get in. I originally learned about Magic through this shop called Fruition. I told them I wanted to open my own shop one day and they really mentored me on how to build my vision and cultivate a successful brand. Fast forward to 2017 I ended up launching Extra Butter which was a movie themed sneaker store in Long Island and NYC. It turned into a pretty successful business. I found a ton of incredible brands and did lots of collabs, including some with Saucony, and then that relationship is ultimately what led to me going to work in-house at the brand. We've spoken to people at shops on the collab side but how does working on sneaker collabs in-house work? It's a lot of fun. when I started, my main responsibility was marketing and I just focused around what stories could and should be told. Once I started to get my feet wet, I spent a lot of time looking through seasonal catalogues and choosing what silhouettes I want to work with and then figuring out who I want to collab with on those silhouettes. We'll bring in the collaborators and I'll work a lot with the product team and we'll really build everything out together. I was told - and now firmly believe - that product and marketing better be in lockstep with one another to have any sort of success. It's cool though because I have freedom to create the stories that I connect with and think our audience will really love. What’s the process for building out those story for a campaign? The big thing is really thinking about what the brands stand for. A lot of people have this misconception that collaborations have to be this big crazy thing but the most important is just staying true to each brand ethos and going from there. For example, when I was at Extra Butter, we did a collab with Asics and so I really wanted to tap into the Japanese culture of Asics and blend it with the pop culture ethos of Extra Butter and tie in a favorite movie, Lost in Translation, which is how we landed on a karaoke themed collection. Once we landed on that, it was almost like method acting. I was doing a ton of karaoke, observing others do it and really immersing myself into that lifestyle and then the story built itself from there. You’re in the midst of a big collaboration with Raised By Wolves right now. How was the launch party this past weekend? It was amazing! I really wanted to give full creative freedom to Cal and the brand and they brought in some incredible talent to put the creative and party together. I'm really happy about how this all came out, from the shoes to the experience. We've noticed that a lot of recent Saucony collabs are with emerging designers or brands that are in the midst of some serious growth. Is that all intentional? For sure! I try to find those who haven't had their chance to tell their story yet. This is something I've always been about. Even back in the day with Extra Butter, we would often be a brand's first retail partner. I see it like sports and placing bets on people. We might not always know what the outcome will be on the new talent but that's why I like it so much. Somebody's gotta give that creator their first collab and I like to be that brand. I also want to be able to grow with our collaborators and go on a journey together. The emerging creatives have so much to say and Saucony can be that brand that helps people discover them and grow with them over multiple collections. What advice would you give to young sneakerheads looking to get into the industry like yourself? If you're truly about this culture, at some point realize the difference between being a consumer vs. being in the industry and follow those industry paths. Figure out what you really love about sneakers - maybe it's design, maybe it's storytelling, maybe it's sales - and pursue that. There's not a job for just loving sneakers but there are so many cool opportunities that exist that can get you very close to sneakers. Another thing... I often see people idolizing people and obsessing over 1 role model and trying to be like them but that can only get you so far. It's important to bring your own charisma and ideas to the table. With everything that's happening in sneakers and fashion, those new ideas are what will get you far, not just being the same as someone who's already made it. That's really good advice! Before we let you go, what's something in sneakers that you're excited about for 2023? It sounds strange but I feel like the sneaker game overall is a bit stale and that is exciting to me. A lot of people don't realize but some of the launches we're getting are still delayed from the pandemic and there's a lot of the same stuff which people are sick of BUT that means that we're at the point where there's room for newness and innovation and I'm excited to see what we can bring at Saucony and also what other brands bring! Now it’s time to get more exciting and innovate Make sure to check out Saucony on Instagram for updates on all of the newest collaborations and keep it locked to Pier Five for more conversations with incredible designers and creators!

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July Guest Picks: Music with Jazz Alba Guest: Graphic Artist Jazz Alba "OK so let me preface this by saying that most of what I’m listening to right now is with my son. When I’m working, I’m usually listening to podcasts and a couple songs here or there." That Chapter "A YouTube series on unsolved crimes and murder mysteries" True to Size Podcast - Canada Got Sole A podcast on all things sneakers by Toronto's Canada Got Sole group. The Channel 8 Podcast - Sean Go A podcast by Toronto based sneaker content creator Sean Go "Heartbreak Anniversary" - Giveon Leave the Door Open - Bruno Mars & Andersen Paak Check out all of our guest picks for July here and stay tuned to Pier Five for more stories and interviews with the coolest people around.