businessNOW™ is our monthly round-up of business and organizational news from Peterborough and across the greater Kawarthas region.
This month’s column features Port Hope’s Dancing Bee Equipment, which recently moved to a new expanded location featuring a retail warehouse and a new dedicated gift shop, Peterborough’s Watson & Lou hosting a piñata-smashing fundraiser for the United Way on First Friday in September, the new rooftop patio bar at Euphoria Wellness Spa in Peterborough, and the new Lavender Moon boutique shop in downtown Peterborough,
We’re also featuring Peterborough web and mobile developer Brad Carson who created the Apsley Studio Tour app, Galerie Q’s move to its new location in downtown Millbrook, the owners of Grady Shoes in Peterborough being honoured for their commitment to Peterborough Rotary Club, and other business and organizational news from across the region.
Port Hope’s Dancing Bee Equipment expands with new warehouse and dedicated gift shop
If you’re interested in bee-keeping or just a fan of honey, you’ll want to visit Dancing Bee Equipment at its new location in Port Hope.
At the end of July, the company celebrated the opening of its new warehouse and dedicated gift shop, located at 5029 County Road 2 beside the Highway 401 westbound ramp at Toronto Road.
Founded in 2010 by Todd Kalisz as a small apiary with only 16 hives, Dancing Bee has rapidly grown to become the top supplier of beekeeping equipment in Canada, providing commercial beekeepers with equipment and distributing its products to over 60 stores across North America. In 2018, Dancing Bee acquired The Bee Works and, in 2020, opened its second retail location in Winnipeg.
Previously located at 3384 Loyalist Road, Dancing Bee received $65,000 in 2019 through the Rural Innovation Initiative Eastern Ontario Fund.
The funding was intended to support Dancing Bee’s purchase and installation of a new innovative extraction line, allowing the company to process a higher volume of honey more efficiently, and to create as many as four new full-time and two part-time jobs in Northumberland County.
The new location at 5029 County Road 2 includes The Bee Works Honey & Gift Shop — featuring a wide range of honeys, products made with honey, and more — as well as a state-of-the-art bottling facility and a new 55,000-square-foot retail warehouse.
For more information about Dancing Bee Equipment, visit dancingbeeequipment.com.
Peterborough’s Watson & Lou hosting piñata-smashing fundraiser for United Way on First Friday in September
Watson & Lou, a creative goods gift shop and creative hub in downtown Peterborough, is raising money for the United Way Peterborough & District by “smashing” COVID-19.
During September’s First Friday art crawl on September 3, Watson & Lou owners Anna Eidt and Erin Watson will sell raffle tickets for a chance to smash a piñata shaped like the COVID-19 virus.
Raffle tickets will begin selling for $5 each (cash preferred) at 6 p.m., with the winner smashing the virus at 8 p.m. Naturally, physical distancing and face masks are required at the event.
The fundraiser will take place at Bankers Common behind the Commerce Building, as a part of the monthly downtown art crawl. All proceeds from the event will go to United Way Peterborough & District.
For more information about Watson & Lou, visit watsonandlou.com.
– By Hannah Abrahamse
Peterborough’s Euphoria Wellness Spa opens new rooftop patio bar
At the end of July, Euphoria Wellness Spa in Peterborough opened its new rooftop event space called the U4 Rooftop Patio Bar.
Located on the rooftop of the award-winning spa owned by Simone Dobson and located at 290 Water Street in downtown Peterborough, U4 Rooftop Patio Bar is booking private events, including social gatherings, wedding celebrations, company parties, and group events.
The open-air event space offers a curated list of cocktails, spirits, and wines, a personal chef serving authentic Italian cuisine and bartenders, private cabanas, and more.
For more information and to book, visit u4rooftop.com.
Lavender Moon boutique shop opens in downtown Peterborough
Owned by Bethany Telford and Derek Morley, the store is an an offshoot of Morley’s Modern Primitive store in Kingston, which Morley acquired from its previous owners in 2019. Morley also owns Global Culture Trading Post in Brockwille.
He and Telford first spoke about the possibility of opening a store in Peterborough in early June. Two weeks later, they had rented a space at 181 Charlotte Street and were preparing to open.
On July 1, Lavender Moon opened its doors to customers for the first time and held its grand opening on July 24.
Morley and Telford created the store to be a safe, healing space where people come for conversation, tarot readings, and information and knowledge on crystals, herbs, plants, and the metaphysical.
Tarot reader ‘Sunset Tarot’ is in the store every Tuesday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for readings (a 20-minute reading costs $34).
For more information, visit Lavender Moon on Facebook.
– By Hannah Abrahamse
Peterborough web and mobile developer brings Apsley Studio Tour into the digital age
When you think of a studio tour taking place in the rural areas of North Kawartha Township, a mobile app probably doesn’t come to mind.
But it did for Peterborough web and mobile developer Brad Carson. Years ago, Carson was browsing through a printed brochure for the Apsley Studio Tour when he realized he could create a digital version that would be much more powerful and engaging.
The idea simmered for a while, until Carson was taking an oil painting class. An interest in drawing and art had originally led to his career in graphic and web design, and he was pursuing photography and painting as a hobby. During the class, Carson told the instructor about his idea of a studio tour app, and the instructor introduced him to painter David Grieve, vice president of the Apsley Studio Tour.
For years, the Apsley Studio Tour has relied on a printed brochure and studio map. Carson offered his services to create a prototype studio tour app, and rose to the task of including the tour’s 28 artists and 13 studios (many located in rural locations that presented a mapping challenge), while ensuring the app would work without a network connection — critical given the spotty network coverage in areas of Peterborough County.
The end result is a full-featured app for both iOS and Android devices that can be downloaded for free from the Apsley Studio Tour website at apsleystudiotour.com. The Apsley Studio Tour takes place on September 18 and 19, 2021.
“I think it takes a certain unapologetic courage to create something and show it to the world,” Carson says. “I have a new perspective and appreciation for art and artists.”
For Carson, the Apsley Studio Tour app is just the beginning. He is developing a build-your-own-app platform called Toureka that will allow other organizations in the arts, culture, and tourism industries to have their own apps without incurring huge development costs.
For more information about Carson, his work, and his art, visit bradcarson.ca.
– From a story by Clare Scott-Taggart (aka Rusty Girl), one of the participating artists in the Apsley Studio Tour.
Galerie Q moves to its new location in downtown Millbrook
Galerie Q has moved from Cavan to its new location at 44 King Street East in downtown Millbrook, at the corner of King and Tupper.
The contemporary art gallery specializes in the works of French Canadian masters as well as emerging Canadian artists, including local artists.
The new location, which previously housed a convenience store, required an extensive renovation.
There will be new and changing art shows in the gallery, with the current show features landscape artist Raynald Leclerc from Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse in Quebec.
Galerie Q is open Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit galerie-q.com.
Galerie Q’s previous location at 1521 County Road 10 in Cavan is currently vacant, but Lush Cannabis Company has applied to open a retail cannabis store in the location.
Owners of Grady Shoes in Peterborough honoured for commitment to Peterborough Rotary Club
Peterborough Rotary Club has presented Kelli and Tony Grady of Grady Shoes in Peterborough with the 2020-21 Rotary Service Above Self award in recognition of how they embraced Rotary during the pandemic.
The couple joined the club in November 2019 and, despite the pandemic, were actively involved by building relationships with other members, attending every club meeting, participating in a variety of committees, and hosting Zoom socials. Kelli also took on maintenance of the club’s Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Grady Shoes is also the major sponsor of the club’s upcoming golf tournament in support of Five Counties Children’s Centre and Rotary projects. The tournament takes place at Bellmere Winds Golf Resort in Keen on Thursday, September 23rd.
Other business and organizational news
- Cassis Bistro at 27 Queen Street in Lakefield, owned by Jacky and Rob Rocan, has been awarded a 2021 Travellers’ Choice Award from TripAdvisor for consistently high reviews. Only around 10 per cent of businesses listed on Tripadvisor receive the award.
- Atria Development is a finalist in the 4th annual BILD Awards, to be presented virtually by the Building Industry and Land Development Association from September 15 to 18. Atria is a finalist for the Best New Community (Planned/Under Development) and Best Mid-Rise Building Design (Pinnacle) for its Y Lofts development in downtown Peterborough.
- Lavender & Play, a family boutique and studio located at 1434 Chemong Road in Peterborough, is launching a new prenatal childbirth education class for couples and single families. The one day, interactive workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p..m. on Saturday, September 25th at a cost of $145 (plus HST) for couples (a reduced rate is available for singles). The class will be facilitated by Lavender & Play owners Sonja Martin (a childbirth educator, mother, postpartum doula, lactation educator, and more) and Sarah Susnar (an early childhood educator, mother, lactation educator, postpartum doula, and more). Visit lavenderandplay.ca for more information.
- Sephora Canada has now opened its new store at Lansdowne Place Mall in Peterborough, the beauty company’s 35th store in Ontario and 83rd store in Canada. Offering a wide assortment of makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance brands, the store is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
- The City of Kawartha Lakes (in partnership with the Bobcaygeon & Area Chamber of Commerce, Coboconk, Norland & Area Chamber of Commerce, Fenelon Falls & District Chamber of Commerce and the Lindsay & District Chamber of Commerce) is conducting the inaugural Kawartha Lakes Business Count Survey in the downtowns and industrial areas across the municipality. This survey will help the municipality better understand and strengthen the local economy, as well as inform policies and programs. For more information and to complete the survey, visit kawarthalakes.ca/en/business-growth/kawartha-lakes-business-count.aspx.
- The Ontario government is launching a new Ontario Business Registry on October 19, replacing outdated technology and providing people across the province with direct access to government services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the first time ever. Businesses will now be able to complete over 90 transactions through the new online registry, including registering a new business and dissolving an existing one. Registrations or filings that were previously submitted by mail or fax, taking four to six weeks to complete, can now be done instantly through the online registry. For more information, visit ontario.ca/businessregistry.
- The Town of Cobourg’s Economic Development Department has launched the ‘Start Here Welcome Package’, a new initiative designed to welcome new businesses while also providing a one-stop information resource to ensure their successful integration into the community. The Start Here Welcome Package will provide new business owners with a variety of Cobourg-centric gifts, resources, and information. New business owners can request their welcome package by contacting the Economic Development Department at 905-372-5481 or by emailing econdev@cobourg.ca.
For business-related events in the Kawarthas, check out our Business Events column.
