Kingston non-profit holds event to promote female entrepreneurs

Jodi Biltons journey to entrepreneurship was a unique one.

“It kind of started off because I was redoing my dollhouse that my grandfather built for me as a kid. I wanted to fill the fridge with stuff and ended up making earrings and necklaces and food-themed stuff after that,” she said.

Now, she’s one of multiple women who visited Confederation Park not just to sell their products, but to promote themselves as well.

“Networking is really everything when you’re selling your own stuff, you’re your brand,” Biltons said.

Created by All Women Entrepreneurship Circuit, this event has one very simple goal, according to the event’s co-ordinator, Missy Ramsay.

“We wanted to jointly bring them together in one place so we could really promote all the amazing things that these women do in our community,” Ramsay said.

And the stalls covered a wide range of products, from jewelry to clothing made from alpaca wool to artwork made by smashing plates. Regardless of what they sell, the opportunity alone is enough to be grateful, seller Anam Mehmood said.

“Until now, I’m only selling my scarves on the events, I don’t have any website, I don’t have any store. So I’m working on the events and it’s going very well.”

With many more of these planned for the future, the hope is more women entrepreneurs will be given a similar opportunity.