Inside this old wooden country house is a truly ‘local’ boutique. So local in fact, that its product — from sourcing through manufacturing to packaging — is all made right here in rural Quebec, Canada. It’s the beautiful countryside flowers, bees and butterflies that truly own and run 3 Acres honey enterprise, but humans Stephen and Liliane take care of the business side of things… READ MORE
Montreal
Unicorn. Montréal’s antidote to global fashion chains
Unicorn. 5135 Boulevard St. Laurent, Montréal, Québec. +1 514 544 2828
Once upon a time, people designed and made stuff with their own hands. Merchants sold the work of artisans in their local shops. Anyone could purchase and own a little piece of cultural history from a place and its people; ensuring the town’s prosperity and future. Simple, huh? An enduring model for retail success. So you’d think. But today, shops like this are a rare and unique find. A unicorn, one might say.
Cocoa Locale. The ‘cake boutique’ that’s a one-woman show.
Cocoa Locale. 4807 Avenue du Parc, Montreal, Québec.
Cocoa Locale is no cupcake shop. It’s not a bakery that churns things out for other businesses. Nor is it a cafe. It’s a “home kitchen”: a single room with an oven and a display case. There’s just one woman behind the counter who bakes and sells the goods herself, right there in front of you. Cocoa Locale’s friendly, feisty sole proprietor, Reema Singh, knew exactly what she was doing when she opened her shop 5 years ago. She wanted to create something small and local, where the folks who came in would make her and her cake shop part of their daily lives.
