1. Tiny Feast
2. Foxy Shoppe
3. Out of the Blue

When Tiny Feast opened three years ago, it was a dream come true for those who have always loved back-to-school shopping.

The Exchange District shop offers up a curated selection of stationery, greeting cards, home goods and terrariums. Couple and owners Danika Bock and Drex Serduletz arrived just as the Exchange District saw a wave of businesses and restaurants move in and were at least partly responsible for its revitalization.

“When we opened, we took a chance on the neighbourhood knowing what we wanted it to become,” Bock says. “In the years since we’ve opened, heaps of businesses, tons of condos have opened. That’s dozens if not hundreds of people, families, couples coming into the neighbourhood that we didn’t see before.”

Despite the thousands of apps intended to organize and manage our daily lives, Bock says there’s still something charming and inspiring about paper and pen stationery.

“There’s something hopeful about a fresh notebook and a sharp pencil,” she says. “It sounds kind of cheesy, but it is kind of just a chance to take a deep breath before digging into something … it’s a chance to kind of slow down and get off the computer and off your phone for a bit. It’s a really tactile thing.”

A cell phone can be a rabbit hole, Bock says. Before even making it to your calendar app, there are websites and notifications to stop and look at.

“If I open my agenda, I will find six to-do lists, but it’s different than opening your computer and finding 20 emails,” she says.

The whole business thing is still a learning process, she adds.

“We’re always definitely still learning things so it’s never like, yeah, I’m a pro at what’s happening here.”

Tiny Feast is located at 217 McDermot Ave. Search @tinyfeast to follow them.

Published in Volume 71, Number 13 of The Uniter (December 1, 2016)