Today is International Women’s Day, a celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. While it is a day to show support and empower women, it is also a day to reflect on the ongoing inequalities that women are faced with on a daily basis.
In Ottawa, we’re fortunate to have so many inspiring women entrepreneurs and business owners who are making a real impact on our local community and beyond. While this is not an exhaustive list of women-owned businesses, it is a highlight of some of our favourites:
Product-based businesses:
Available in local shops across Ottawa and online internationally, Second Aura is an inclusive brand with beautifully curated pieces. Their selection is made with thoughtful designs, inspired and created by mixed heritage, and their work is a representation of those connections.Their consignment collection features unique, new and vintage jewelry from around the world.
Check their website for the full list of local locations to visit!
Located in the Glebe, Octopus Books is just tucked away from the main street but the large octopus mural makes it really hard to miss. In addition to their mission “To promote conversations and the exchange of ideas through literature”, this local bookstore is committed to advocacy for all marginalized groups and building a supportive and inclusive community through events.
Check out their website here for a list of recommended reads for this International Women’s Day!
Megan founded BBxCo in 2017, flexing her creativity with cool, trendy designs that made everyone instantly fall in love. She took the leap to quit her full-time job and has been a one-woman show ever since. The boutique is located in the heart of downtown Ottawa in the Byward Market and is easily one of the cutest boutiques in the city. With a focus on size-inclusive apparel, designed, printed and pressed in-house, BBxCo is worth paying a visit!
Service-based businesses:
Kayla started grooming dogs in a home-based salon over 13 years ago, and has since grown her business into a physical location in Hintonburg alongside a team of 3 more dog lovers. Her team has built a reputation for giving the dogs a calm, caring and paw-sitive experience (pun definitely intended). Your fur babies are in the right hands and will look amazing when they come back from a day at Kayla’s.
Ottawa Social Girl Club (OSGC)
Biatris is taking the exclusivity away from social clubs and introducing an inclusive club for all women identifying people in 2022. She strives to cultivate and foster a safe community for women in Ottawa that simply want to make new friends and experience what Ottawa has to offer. The club explores cute cafes, restaurants and local businesses through organized events and even hosts a monthly book club!
Founded by Suyin, she is a testament to her mission when it comes to helping client’s reach their goals while focusing on strength, confidence, and empowerment. Her team has been taking the personal training scene by storm with a variety of bootcamps and options for semi-private personal training so you can maximize your results and work out how you want to. Not to mention, you can get started with 7 days of personal training for $7, which is a crazy deal and a great way to start investing in yourself.
Food/restaurants:
They really have it all when it comes to fun, delicious treats. From single cookies, to Paint Your Owns, meringues and so much more, you have the option to grab and go or you can place an order with your custom flair. From the storefront in Hintonburg, you can see all of the magic happen! It might make picking which freshly-baked cookies you want a challenge, but we’re not complaining.
Located in Kanata, Anna’s confectioneries is a dreamland for all chocolate lovers. Coming from a family of established and successful pastry chefs and chocolatiers, she is paving her own path as the first female chef within six generations of her family. As a proud immigrant to Canada, she strives to share her family heritage through the care that goes into her pieces and convert people to the love of all things chocolate.
If you’re looking for good coffee and good vibes, Arlington Five is the place to be. It has truly grown into a focal point of the Centretown community bringing together artists, activists, creatives, academics and so much more. It is bursting with creativity and humility, and is overall a safe space for everyone. Keep up with their Instagram for news about upcoming events or pop ups!
Together, we can create an environment where women-owned businesses in Ottawa can thrive and succeed. If you’d like to support more Ottawa businesses, please feel free to check out this thorough post by @shopottawadotcom here.
Happy International Women’s Day from the Seyer team!
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