Our Story
OUR MISSION
Market collective's mission is to create a platform to support local and handmade from grassroots to Canadian professional artisans. Connecting our community with local makers while nurturing ourselves and those we care about. Networking with other local businesses and charities to give back with the support we have received.
OUR STORY
In the beginning...our mission was to support our vending community that had lost venues to sell at during the holiday season due to the cancellation of in-person craft Markets and Events. We hoped that those who wanted to shop local for their gift giving would find all they need at the store and help stimulate the local economy by spending their hard earned dollars within their community. The downtown Bay Centre mall loved the project and so in October of 2020 we found a home there for the Christmas season. After the Christmas season we still had artisans approaching to showcase their works with us and so we saw a need to keep the store open permanently.
The last year....has seen so much growth and it is all due to community support and the network we have created with our amazing local makers.
Opening a second location...There can never be too many locations that support local makers and a second location means we can showcase more artisans. In June of 2021 we found a beautiful location at Matticks farm which was the perfect fit and a great place to bring our store to another community. Now...Market Collective is proudly collaborating with more than 130+ and this is ever growing.
What started as a pop-up has grown into something truly special.
ABOUT US...
Cory Judge of Shi Studio with 20 years of working at her craft is the magician behind how beautiful the stores look, making 130 artisans look cohesive is no small feat. Her years of designing and attention to detail makes the store not only a shop but an experience.
Katrina Dwulit the founder of the Esquimalt Farmers Market and Ocean Tides Health Collective. She is our communication wizard, if you are chatting with someone on our social media she's the human behind it all. She had supporting and connecting people in her blood, and we all benefit from it.
Vanessa Gaudet of Lady Dragon Glassworks. with over 20 years of being part of the crafting community and grateful to be part of such an amazing team.
We are multi-faceted humans that would love to meet you in person, we all work in the stores and so please come down and connect with us anytime.
Thank you for supporting local + handmade!
Market Collective by Shi acknowledges and thanks the Lək̓ʷəŋən People, also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations communities, for allowing us to live, work and play on their lands. We are appreciative for this.
