As you may or may not know creativity means everything to me and I love manifesting beautiful spaces, so I take our store display very seriously.

I’ll often work late into the night to make sure the display is as interesting and attractive as possible. A recognition like this gives a nod to all those long long long (did I say long?) Looooong nights, I was at the store, sleep deprived and grumpy AF…often wondering if anyone actually notices…!?!?!?

More importantly though being an Anti-racist Feminist is who I have always been. Since I was a child (4yrs old, yup!) I have been speaking out against Injustice and Oppression and I haven’t stopped yet. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

So the Rebel Girls books are a culmination of two of my favourite things: representation and art! More than winning any other prize this means a lot because of what it represents: Rebel Girls acknowledging other Rebel Girls.

So we came first and you know what that means? We might get a visit from the fab creators of the whole Rebel Girls series: Elena Favilli and Francesa Cavallo.

They are forces to be reckoned with and we are glad to be partners with them on the journey for representation that changes the status quo.

Go Rebel Girls Go!!!

Can you imagine stores across the world had big Rebel Girls displays and we were all making the statement together at the same time. Feels Really Really Good.

Amidst all the amazing stores across the world that had done a Rebel Girls display, here is the announcement for the contest winners.

……..

Rebel Display Contest Winners Announced!

Timbuktu Labs is proud to announce 
the 6 winners of our Rebel Display Contest…

CONGRATULATIONS!

Old’s Cool General Store

THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER…
Old’s Cool General Store
250 Westlake Avenue, Toronto, ON M4C 4T4, Canada

“More than a store, this is a movement.
A movement for human kindness and connectedness.
Guided by two age-old principles: relationships matter and spending time together in person matters. We believe that people need to regularly congregate in community, sharing the ups and downs of life, banding together to overcome immense challenges. Our goal is to provide the space and resources for this to happen. We plan to fund our community building goals primarily through social enterprise. To that end we hope to provide our customers with an eclectic array of some of the finest creations available. We are the first “Boutique” Community Center and we hope to prove that this is a sustainable model. Mostly though, we want to live rich social and cultural lives within our community.”

Books Ahoy!

THE FIRST RUNNER UP…
Books Ahoy!
No. 3 Yong Siak Street, Singapore 168642

“The brainchild of Woods in the Books, Books Ahoy! believes reading is the cornerstone of a child’s ingenuity. Nurturing a love for books is the greatest gift to children. Books Ahoy! aims to grow the appetite of mighty young readers through a selection of picture and chapter books for both early and independent readers.”

Touch of Grayce

SECOND RUNNER UP…
Touch of Grayce
65 Main Street, Genesco, NY 14454, United States

“Touch of Grayce opened its doors in May of ’95, and has been located at 65 Main Street for 23 years! They bring handmade, locally made & ethically sourced products to the community.
Their products come from as close as the bee-keeper around the corner to as far as artisans in India. Every item was thought-out, hand-selected, and brought to you with special care.”

The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.

HONORABLE MENTION

The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.
1276 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago IL 60622, United States

“The Secret Agent Supply Co. is the storefront of 826CHI, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students aged 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.”

Interabang Books

HONORABLE MENTION
Interabang Books
10720 Preston Road #1009B, Dallas, TX 75241, United States

“Interabang Books is an independent bookstore with a hand-picked selection of books and a wide array of gifts for adults and kids. They opened in July 2017 and carry 12,000+ titles in popular categories. The store features a flexible event space with seating for up to 100 people for book signings and a children’s stage for weekly story times and other programs.”

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

HONORABLE MENTION
Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace (The Girl Scouts of the USA)
142 Bull St, Savannah, GA 31401, United States

“From Girl Scout merchandise, to locally made soaps and honey, to fair-trade items from all over the world, the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace shop offers a unique selection of gifts and souvenirs for everyone. We feature girl and women makers worldwide, who produce beautiful, handmade artisan goods. We are proud to support women-owned businesses, as well as better trading conditions and sustainability at home and abroad.”
………

This is so so so cool! We are so proud to be amidst such good company. Thanks to the Rebel Girls Team for this wonderful recognition. It means so much to us.

Lots and lots of love, Zahra

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First Nations, local governments, schools and communities come together to mark the lives of First Nations people who were forced to endure that horror. The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools.

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As someone who has been activating for social change for close to 30 years now, there are a few things I have learnt about staying the course in the most challenging times:

1. We must demonstrate  collectively and effectively. While the government is often the greatest offender of injustice we must hold them accountable. There are 1 million ways to channel truth: choose one.
2. We need to stay strong: do the things you need to do to feel and heal. Fight with everything you have to, to not let the negative shitstorm keep you in despair. For those of us with mental health issues – well that is the life fight. But we must fight every single force that tries to run us over – that is the age old fight: justice v injustice, good v evil….maybe it is the eternal, never ending fight. In any case hang on to every single ray of light that shines. Keep feeding on hope otherwise we become weak and paralyzed.

I have never been effective when I was in the depths of despair.

3. Continue to celebrate life, make art do whatever you can to create JOY. We must keep sitting together, dancing with each other and telling the stories that inspire.

It is food, it is nourishment it is how communities in the worst of conditions have persisted.

Let’s all remember and honour Jack Layton’s last words to  Canada:

“Consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done. My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”

We are in this together….until we aren’t.

Love and Justice,

Zahra
Dispatched from your Local Mom and Mom Shop

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Happy Holidays Community!

Not sure what to get the people who have everything?! We’ve heard from lots of you that you love a lot of things in the store… so why not a gift card to Old’s Cool?!

And we’ll give back to you so you get a treat too! Everyone who purchases a total of $60 in gift cards at one time, in store, $5 in FREE app credit will be applied to your account! That’s a better investment return than on any GIC out there!

This is a limited time offer it expires December 31st, 2017 at midnight.

Download our app for iPhone or Android.

(Please allow for up to 24 hours for the bonus credit to appear on your app account)

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Saturday, October 28 at 1 PM – 5 PM

www.devilsrevolver.com

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Warren is Ojibwe and a wood burning artist. Warren is a man of great strength, resilience and wisdom. He is a storyteller and generous heart. He was taken into St.Joseph’s Residential School from 1968-1973. He was successful in his legal fight against 3 Priests who had terrorized him and 130 other children who were placed in custody.

Charlie Boyer will be leading us in a traditional drum song. He is Ojibwe and a long time maker of Indigenous craft. He does beadwork and makes Moccasins. He is a quiet, soulful and artistic man with a very kind spirit. Both of his parents survived Residential School and he has spent a lot of his life healing from that legacy.

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SCHEDULE:

2:30 We will start the afternoon with an opening talk by Artist and Residential School Survivor Warren Boucher. Everyone needs to come out to hear him speak.

3:45 We get our little Marchers organized with their signs, chants and safety rules.

4:00 Our March through the neighborhood with all the little people. EVERY CHILD MATTERS! NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!

Background:

Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters is a growing national grassroots event that recognizes the survivors of residential schools – and acknowledges those who did not.

September 30 was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools.

Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters grew out of Phyllis Webstad’s account of having her sparkly new orange shirt taken away on her first day of St. Joseph Mission residential school. This was just the beginning of how she was robbed. She shared this story during a community commemoration in WilliamsLake,BC in 2013.

At the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in Vancouver the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair had encouraged Ms. Webstad to share her orange shirt story with others. Since then, Orange Shirt Day has become an annual opportunity to keep the discussion happening on all aspects of residential schools.

The community is invited to attend and commemorate this important day together: raising awareness about residential schools and to honour the close to 4,000 children who died, and the sacrifices that were made by over 150 000 residential school survivors. 

At Old’s Cool we believe that repairing the harm done to Indigenous People in Canada is the most important Constitutional/Human Rights Issue needing to be addressed in our country and around the world. 

So let’s talk about it in our community. Let’s get educated so we can put pressure on the powers that be. Let’s teach our children not to recreate the past and how to change things for the future. Let’s not be silent but come together in the spirit of restoration and hope for generations of children.

Please wear ORANGE! We don’t care if it’s one of our tshirts or something else. We just got these together because we heard people needed an accessible place to get orange shirts for the day.

If you can pre-order your EVERY CHILD MATTERS Orange Shirt Now ($22 plus tax) it will help us have enough shirts for Saturday.
$5 from the sale of every shirt will go to Children’s Peace Theatre to help support the amazing programs they run with Indigenous Children and Youth.

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Community Strength is the theme of our event this coming Saturday. We really hope you will join us ESPECIALLY for the Playback Theatre. I promise it’s one of the coolest things you will experience this year! It’s great fun for the whole familia.

Please Share with EveryOne you know!

Also, if you are a COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION and want to share info. Please bring it we will have lots of table space and welcome any info that supports community strength!!!!!!!!!!

MORE ON THE SHOW:

This will be a potent show.

We’ll be stoking the fires of connection by asking audience members to share stories of the power of community.

Of course, we will hear all kinds of stories. Likely those of loss and isolation, as well as, those of learning to reach out and trust and being part of a larger web of life. Stories of strength and vulnerability. Of laughter, celebration and joy, as well as, those of estrangement and longing. Playback is to get to the heart of the matter, your truth. So, we’ll be brave and surrender to whatever comes up.

You with us?

YOU MAY ALSO BE WONDERING…

What is Playback Theatre?

Playback Theatre is a community event where audience members share true stories which a troupe of actors and musicians playback through the magic of theatre!

Do I have to share something about myself and participate?

No. It is completely optional. Given that the content of Playback comes from the audience, we may ask you if you wish to share a story. YET, we only encourage you to share and participate after you feel safe and ready to do so. You can always watch and enjoy the playback of other people’s stories that you see. We always appreciate audience members.

What is the fee?

It will be pay-what-you-want, to help us raise money for a new Eastside Playback Community!

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At Old’s Cool we want you to go into Canada Day weekend conscious of what is being celebrated.

Basically, you are celebrating the official proclamation that this land was dominated by the British and it was going to enforce the same law and government across the country as it had in Britain, that’s why they called the Constitution “The British North America Act” on July 1st, 1967.

Everything, that we need to know is said in that title: the British own this.

We now live in a world that is based in power and domination, so that doesn’t seem like the worst thing ever, because isn’t that what governments are supposed to do – force themselves on everyone? Well, we don’t agree with that. We know (from decades of research) that there are forms of governance that are based on collaboration and power-sharing.

The law that we celebrate here in Canada has been a double edged sword: privileging some while punishing others, spreading butter on one hand while slicing off another.

Did you know:

• Aboriginal people did not get the right to vote in Canada until 1960.
• Most People of Colour did not have the right to vote until 1948, even if they were British subjects.
• The last residential school for Aboriginal Children was closed…wait for it, no not 1950 or 60… 1996.
• While White Europeans were being given FREE land and GRANTS to settle and farm Canada, people from other countries were being denied entry into Canada by several specific exclusion acts. This was an intentional act because as one Prime Minister said:

“We will endeavour to keep this country as White as Possible in the matter of race.”

Who decided these things: Our Government

What was their basis: Our Law

I could go on, and on and on and on and on. But nobody will read that much. So let’s sum this up: British guys came to Canada, they waged war, they said we won, they made laws in their favour and said we will now govern this whole country forever.

We ask that this Canada Day, you think about all the folks who might not be celebrating and why. Don’t dismiss the protestors…. maybe even ask them why, why are they spending their time fighting when they could be binge watching Netflix. They might have something important to share.

Thanks people and have a Conscious Canada Day!

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