A group of artisans from across Manitoba are coming together for Winnipeg’s newest consignment shop, Made Here.
The shop was started up by Donavan Robinson of Vantage Studio in collaboration with Made Here For You, a one-stop online stop for purveyors of goods made in Manitoba. The store is an effort to showcase local makers in a physical space and raise funds for charity. The shop acts on a consignment basis, with ten percent of each sale going towards one of the four children’s charities.
“We’ve chosen to focus on four local youth-based charities each year, and [we] have set an ambitious goal to raise $20,000 in our first year,” Robinson said in a press release.
This year’s charitable causes include The Dream Factory, Snowflake Place, Art City, and Junior Achievement.
The idea for the shop started last year when Print Shop by Vantage raised $400 in a smaller consignment store effort, and Robinson met one of the makers, whose son was a Dream kid. After this, he knew he wanted to contribute on a larger scale, so he approached Bentall Kennedy, the management company of the Richardson Centre in downtown Winnipeg. Bentall Kennedy and the Richardson Centre quickly came onboard and contributed the retail space to make the shop a possibility for its one-year term. Soon after the spot was secured, Robinson met the local couple who runs Made Here For You.
“The shop is also a mentoring opportunity for Junior Achievement to sell their product in store,” says Robinson. “It will help give them that social awareness of giving back to charities. We want them to learn that giving back is a huge part of business.”
Made Here opened on October 4 and is located at the Richardson Centre, directly below the Fairmont Hotel. More than 70 artisans are involved, including a few southern Manitoba makers like VONBROS Men’s Grooming and Little Mouse on the Prairie, who are both based out of Morden. The shop will also see the return of local favourites like artist Elaine Dilay, Little Tree Hugger Soap Co., Paper Canoe, and many more.
With everything locally made and curated, Manitobans not only have an opportunity to get something for themselves, but they also have the opportunity to give back to someone else—making this shop the real work of art.
“Every purchase benefits a local children’s charity,” says Robinson. “It’s the perfect location for someone to take a piece of Manitoba home with them.”
