Every Tuesday night, a handful of residents gather inside Tierra Hermosa Local Market at Creemore Village for workshops. One might catch them pouring candles or poring over a vision board.
The group activities are guided by an expert, leading the meditative process of creative expression. Folks are able to interact with the makers and the minds behind handmade products and know the stories behind each craft.
These workshops, which encourage deep discussions between community members and local artisans, are part of a collective project started by Cheri Mara and Santiago Saavedra, founders of Tierra Hermosa. Through self-experimentation during the COVID-19 pandemic they pushed themselves to search for more locally-made products. They soon came up with the idea to put their personal philosophy into a business by opening a store that sells 100 per cent Canadian-made products.
The couple moved from downtown Toronto to Creemore in July 2020. The decision came within two weeks of Cheri’s first visit to Creemore when she had to check out a facility on behalf of the Ontario Cannabis Store. Despite being confident about their move, they kept their downtown house.
“We rented it out, just in case this was a horrible mistake,” says Mara.
The pandemic had allowed them to work remotely. But when it was time to return to the office, they had to make up their minds on which place would now be home.
“We made the decision last spring, a year ago now, that we were never moving back. So we sold our house and invested in building our business here,” she says.
The idea for Tierra Hermosa was to build the community by helping local makers. They currently list about 60 different makers at the shop and more than 50 of them are featured on the shop’s website. Profit from the workshop, collected through participation fees charged to attendees, are given directly to the makers who are running them.
“It's a cooperative, where you know, all the artists’ products are amplified together. So in addition to selling products, makers generate revenue through the workshop. This is a really beautiful concept, and we’re very, very proud of what we’ve created and the sense of connection it brings to the community,” says Mara.
Kim Andrews of The Good Wax candle company is one of the makers who run workshops at Tierra Hermosa. She began creating candles as a hobby during pandemic lockdowns and is now running it as a full-time business. All her candles are made in a tiny 145-sq-ft studio attached to her home and her products are sold to more than 60 retailers across Ontario.
Andrews is enjoying the social aspect of leading workshops and sharing her art.
“I love how everyone’s eyes light up when they begin choosing their scents … and how some people will share stories about how a fragrance evokes a special memory or emotion,” she says.
Saavedra and Mara met in 2011 while training to be part of the same marathon. Their decision to relocate from Toronto to Creemore meant moving away from their friends and social circle. Saavedra confesses that it is fairly easy for Cheri as an extrovert to build new connections. So one of the reasons behind the workshops is to create opportunities where fellow introverts like him could find subtler ways to bond with folks through common interests and hobbies.
Saavedra also finds that Creemore in a way gives him a sense of being back in Chile where he grew up.
“In Toronto, there was a sense of anonymity. You can get lost in the shadows. But here, I know all the local business owners and we address each other by first names,” he says.
To sign up for the next workshop at Tierra Hermosa Local Market, visit the website at Tierra-hermosa.ca.
