From sweet treats to inspiring reading, find talent and ingenuity within the National Capital Region.
VIRTUALLY SWEET
After starting a family, entrepreneur Erin Kergen decided to leave her career in event marketing and public relations to start an artisan market and micro bakery in Water Valley, Alberta. Pickle & Myrrh is a virtual farm stand now based at her home in Merrickville, Ontario. With a creative flair, an eye for beautiful things, and a passion for tasting new and different foods, Erin has made a name for herself in different local boutique retail shops in Ottawa and the surrounding area.
Be sure to check out the sea salt caramels and caramel sauce at pickleandmyrrh.com
COMMUNITY BRANDING
Astro Design Centre, the award-winning kitchen and bathroom design store, has announced an innovative initiative to support local businesses dealing with restrictions due to COVID-19. The Ottawa Thriving Together campaign aims to bring Ottawa’s business community together and expand brand awareness of eligible local vendors through Astro’s showroom. The campaign enables small businesses, such as Dala Décor, to display products at Astro’s showroom and promote a cross-brand exposure using social media platforms.
Find the community-minded showroom at 1818 Woodward Dr.
MYSTERIOUSLY LOCAL
Dark August is a debut novel for Ottawa based, award-winning screenwriter and director Katie Tallo. In 2012, Katie was inspired to begin writing novels, but was struggling with how to get started. She came across Stephen King’s On Writing, and his simple straight-forward advice struck a chord. Released this summer to rave reviews, Dark August is a fast-paced thriller set in the Wellington West neighbourhood of Ottawa that will leave readers guessing until the final and startling conclusion.
Find Dark August at all major bookstores.
MOTIVATIONAL READING
Fearless. Girls with Dreams, Women with Vision is a collection of inspiring true stories from Janice McDonald, who is an Ottawa-area entrepreneur, speaker and director and host of the Fearless Women Podcast. The book brings together the stories of extraordinary women from Canada and around the world as they reflect on their youth to look back at the defining moments in their lives that set them on their paths to leadership.
