November Scoop: Celebrating Local Makers & Our Fall Recap!
Welcome back, readers!
It feels like it’s been forever since the October edition, but really it’s been about a month! The reading week break, although long overdue, altered my sense of time and it took a while to adjust back to school. I hope you readers enjoyed it as much as I did!
When I think about the month of November, my mind wanders to holiday shopping. That’s why I reached out to Shop Makers Polo Park and had the honour of interviewing the store manager, Shadeen Dion.
Without further ado, I present to the November Scoop: Celebrating Local Makers & Our Fall Recap!
Support Local and Handmade at Shop Makers Polo Park
What makes the best holiday shopping gift?
If you’ve ever exchanged gifts with a loved one, this might be a question you had to ask yourself. The answer is purely subjective, but a lot of us would appreciate something personalized and unique. Something that isn’t mass produced so easily, something that you’ll remember and cherish. Something like a handcrafted good, made with the love and care of a local artisan.
Luckily for us, Shop Makers recently set up shop in Winnipeg.
Known for its one-of-a-kind retail experience, Shop Makers connects communities with the best of local and handmade. The history of Shop Makers has been a short but impactful one. It was co-founded in 2020 when CEO Adam Sharanewych identified a disconnect of physical retail spaces for artisans to showcase their products year round, during all seasons.
The first store opened in Vancouver. Fast forward to now, October 17, 2025 marks the opening of the 23rd location, in the heart of Winnipeg’s largest shopping centre, CF Polo Park.
Having reached its one-month mark last week, Shop Makers Polo Park has been greatly received, supported, and welcomed by the Winnipeg community!
Meet Shadeen Dion, Shop Makers Polo Parks’ store manager with a passion for connecting people and ideas. Her passion led her to working in the community-driven retail space, and after over ten years working in all areas of retail leadership, she found herself at Shop Makers.
Shadeen, along with the Head Office team at British Columbia, worked hard to open the Polo Park store.
“Shop Makers is a collective retail space that brings together local small businesses and artisans under one room,” Shadeen says. For Manitoba, that means having a space where local Manitoban businesses and artisans get to spotlight their products in a space tailored for them to shine. These artisans, called “makers”, get to take home 100% of their sales.
A significant aspect of the work they do at Shop Makers includes storytelling.
Each story is crafted and weaved through the stores’ physical layout, shelving, and maker placements. Storytelling allows Shop Makers to connect with their customers, support their makers, keep displays fresh, and provide an immersive experience for everyone who walks through the doors.
“The storytelling within each product is a big part of the store. I want every story told to customers who walk through the doors. There is heart, and hours upon hours in the work.” – Shadeen Dion, Store Manager of Shop Makers Polo Park
Each item in the store has a story and they’re all handmade and local. If you walk into Shop Makers Polo Park right now, you’ll find a bit of everything! From handmade jewellery, candles, art, homegoods, skincare, and even slime. Currently, the store features over 90 local makers.
Shop Makers gives makers the opportunity to reach a wide audience without the big overhead of a physical storefront. They help with marketing, retail, and facilitating community connections. Local artisan entrepreneurs can have sustainable businesses that aren’t tied to seasonal pop-ups or markets. Manitoba’s creative community can feel supported and aligned with Shop Makers value of authenticity.
To Shadeen, supporting small businesses means giving back to the community, whether it’s by being able to talk to the artisans who personally handcraft each item or having the knowledge of the stories behind the things she buys. Understanding that each item comes from all over Manitoba truly enhances the sense of community.
From opening day to today, it has been a rewarding experience for Shadeen, especially with seeing the makers grow and gain confidence in what they do.
The local support has been overwhelming, bringing lots of customers and purchases that positively impact the makers. Especially with the holidays right around the corner, it’s a great place to visit when you’re collecting gifts for your Christmas shopping list.
And it’s not just that! In fact, Starting December 1st, Shop Makers Polo Park will have a Christmas art drive where people can drop off gently used or new art supplies to be donated to Art City, a not-for-profit community art studio that provides art opportunities for people of all ages.
If you’re near the area, make sure to check out Shop Makers on the second floor of CF Polo Park. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find the perfect holiday gift!
“The storytelling within each product is a big part of the store. I want every story told to customers who walk through the doors. There is heart, and hours upon hours in the work.” – Shadeen Dion, Store Manager of Shop Makers Polo Park
Each item in the store has a story and they’re all handmade and local. If you walk into Shop Makers Polo Park right now, you’ll find a bit of everything! From handmade jewellery, candles, art, homegoods, skincare, and even slime. Currently, the store features over 90 local makers.
Shop Makers gives makers the opportunity to reach a wide audience without the big overhead of a physical storefront. They help with marketing, retail, and facilitating community connections. Local artisan entrepreneurs can have sustainable businesses that aren’t tied to seasonal pop-ups or markets. Manitoba’s creative community can feel supported and aligned with Shop Makers value of authenticity.
Fall Semester Recap: CSA Edition
Before we head off into the winter semester, let’s do a quick recap of the CSA’s milestones this year!
Shinerama
Over the summer, Shinerama was in full swing, and as we moved into the fall we hosted our final events and officially wrapped up this year’s campaign. The start of the school year was especially busy, with a bake sale during TCW, can collection for Bev Garden and COTQ, and volunteer shifts at the Blue Bombers Bike Valet. Because many of these events were volunteer-based, it was inspiring to see so many students stepping up to participate.
Our biggest event of the year, Shine Day Internal, featured a variety of vendors, games, therapy dogs, and food on the Quad after months of planning by the Shinerama team. The day was a great success, drawing an impressive turnout and enthusiastic support for the cause. Soon after, we held Shine Day External at locations across Winnipeg, including the U of M Bannatyne Campus, Garden City Mall, and 300 Main. We continued to raise not only funds, but also awareness for cystic fibrosis. To finish off the campaign, we hosted a Halloween cookie-decorating class, offering students a fun and creative break from midterms.
Altogether, this year’s Shinerama campaign raised just over $10,700, surpassing our fundraising goals and making a meaningful impact!
Commerce Cares
This fall, Commerce Cares kicked off October with the Commerce Cares Coffeehouse. We had musical guests Happy Hour, Yeho Estico, Madi Kurtz, Laura Borel, Clairon Messina, and Sebastian Nebre (One of our CC co-chairs) perform various arrangements from jazz standards to original compositions. Catered deserts, coffee, and tea from DeLuca’s, Cottage Bakery, and Tall Grass Prairie, made sure everyone was well fed and caffeinated for the weeks of midterms ahead.
The Mentorship Program also started its monthly activity meetings at the beginning of October, and we had our second meeting in November. By facilitating mentor and mentee hangouts, games, and bonding experiences, the Mentorship program is our way of creating a social environment for those who are finding their way throughout the faculty, helped out by more experienced students who want to give back. The Commerce Cares Committee, Seb and Jack, are working hard to plan fun winter activities for our final mentorship meeting of the semester.
Business Banquet
On October 30th, the 59th Annual Business Banquet took place, and it was a night to remember!
The theme for this year’s banquet was Ambition, and it covered how we can embrace the drive that pushes us to grow through uncertainty, and strive for excellence. This theme was perfectly encapsulated by this year’s Keynote speaker, Melissa Giller.
Every year Business Banquet welcomes over 400 students and corporate representatives for a night of networking and connecting. Among other big changes, this year the BB was held in the Fort Garry Hotel. The event space fostered a great atmosphere for the evening, bringing together the great Winnipeg business community.
The Business Banquet Co-Chairs, Juliana Cerqueti and Margarita Minaya, along with their VP Professional Development Matthew Esguerra and dedicated committee wish all the best to BB60!
And this wraps up the November Scoop!
Thank you to Shadeen Dion for the chance to interview Shop Makers! Thanks to the Shinerama co-chairs, Commerce Cares co-chairs, and Business Banquet committee for sharing their milestones. And of course, thanks to my readers for reading until the end!
Pookie Out!