Vernon’s metaphysical minister

Not many people can claim the title “metaphysical minister,” but that’s just one of Sue Cairnie’s many designations. The owner of Vernon’s Earth to Sky Ceremonies is also a certified life cycle celebrant through the Celebrant Foundation and Institute and a red-corded priestess through the Red Moon Women’s Mystery School. Most of the time, however, she […]

Not your typical nightlife

Kelowna really is a sun-lover’s paradise. Walk down the main drag in the middle of July and you’ll find tourists in board shorts crowding the streets, popping in and out of the multitude of bars and restaurants only too happy to serve them. Walk a little further, to the end of that main drag, and […]

Doesn’t belong here?

The founder of a Kelowna tech startup has been whisked away to a special program in New York, after she was selected as one of the top 15 early-stage women tech entrepreneurs in Canada. Chosen by Canada’s Consulate General, Mazu founder and CEO Janice Taylor is currently taking part in the Canadian Tech in NYC […]

From fans to creators

The team at Kelowna’s High Roller Games practically oozes enthusiasm,  and why wouldn’t they? For a group of pals who grew up in Kelowna playing Risk and Dungeons and Dragons together, running their own board game company is pretty much a dream come true. “We played games all through high school and after high school,” […]

Building the Purppl nation

Andrew Greer didn’t get into business to make money. In fact Purppl, his Kelowna-based startup, is structured so it legally has to give most of its profits to charity. But when you build a company that’s trying to fix society’s most pressing social issues, you don’t factor getting rich into the equation. “My first job […]

Kelowna’s ‘serendipity architech’

It’s a little past 3 p.m. and Co+Lab’s “chief rabble rouser” is still on a call, trying to cram in some last-minute work before his interview. Shane Austin, who founded the co-working space along with fellow tech entrepreneur Daryl Chymko, is a busy man: Co+Lab is about to undertake a massive expansion and he has […]

Owning the pet industry

We all know the saying: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. A young Penticton entrepreneur has taken that wisdom to the extreme, opening up her own pet supply business to right some of the wrongs she has seen in the industry. Chrystina Barnard is the 25-year-old owner and operator […]

Bucking the turnover trend

A pair of Kelowna restauranteers have just been recognized as the best small business employers in British Columbia. Jared Lee and Devon Murray’s restaurant, Central Kitchen + Bar, won the coveted Small Business BC award last week. The awards are the largest of their kind in the province, and aim to “recognize the outstanding achievements […]

His own technology

Imagine having dentures made for you in the amount of time it takes for you to watch a movie. Perfit Dental Solutions, a Kelowna based non-traditional tech company, is home to the world’s first digital temporary denture. Before Perfit’s innovative technology, dentures would often take days to make, and the moulds would often be imperfect […]

King of the cod

For a young Jon Crofts the giant red grouper was one of the most exotic things he’d ever seen. At 19 years old Crofts had lived “a pretty sheltered life” in England, and the magnificent fish that were delivered every day to the supermarket where he worked were a connection to far-flung corners of the […]