It all started as a father daughter trip across Spain
They say be open to possibilities and they will come.
In November 2012, Mal Woodhouse and his daughter Terri-Lynn Woodhouse set off to Europe to complete the Santiago de Compostela (an 800 km walk) across Spain. Long story short, an illness cut the walk short but the extra time allowed for a whirlwind of travel to some pretty cool and exotic places.
Perhaps it was the countless plane rides, the train or boat rides or maybe just the camel ride that produced the idea that we can help people and that we are all the same. Just because we are born in one country does not give us the right to hang our hat nightly and not think of helping others and ourselves, when we can.
The search for ethically made, high quality products began. We began our quest to create a more flourishing world.
The first country we began partnering with Artisans in was Morocco, next Peru & China. Now almost 7 years later we have partnerships with Artisans in Morocco, Peru, China, India, Uganda, Indonesia, Chile, Guatemala, Kenya & Nepal.
In May 2013, we opened our online store and with the help of our founding Consultants we began to spread the world that people working together could change the world.
As our business grew, we knew we wanted to meet more people face to face and offer them the experience to shop differently, in a way that they could feel good about their purchases.
In March 2017 we opened our Boutique In Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, a space in the old town to shop and learn all about our story and the people behind it.
In May 2017 we grew our argan oil line and began to make even more all natural, organic, argan oil infused products to supply local Bed & Breakfasts and Vacation Rentals in the Niagara Region. These quickly grew to over 100. (Our argan, prickly pear is sourced from the womens co-ops we work with in Morocco)
In January 2018 we launched our workshop series and expanded our space for groups of people to visit us and create their own argan oil products, in a fun environment. Our workshops are the highest rated experience in Niagara-on-the-Lake (airbnb source).
In March 2019 we launched our Zero Waste centre in our workshop in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a place where our customers can bring their containers for a refill or better yet bring their own containers.
In November 2019 we were certified as a Living Wage Employer, at the Champion Level for paying our team a living wage AND our Artisan Partners around the world.
In January 2020 we began to renovate our space in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and grow our facility.
In March 2021 we moved our boutique into a 1300 sq foot storefront on Queen Street in Niagara-on-the-Lake giving us more opportunity to meet more people and sell more ethically sustainable products.
In March 2023 we renovated and opened our second storefront in Thorold, Ontario! We will be in another historic town, in a historic building which is 4500 sq feet!
In April 2024 we renovated and opened our third store in the fun town of Crystal Beach, Ontario- in the newly revamped area that used to be known as Hotdog Alley.
Stay tuned, lots more to come!
We are doing our best to make the world seem smaller and to make sure it's more flourishing for all.