Fresh Collective

Whatever you do, don’t call it a store. “We’re a collective,” explains one of the 20 local designers who spend one day per week managing the cozy six-year-old Queen West spot in exchange for space to display their original creations. Laura-Jean Bernhardson (a.k.a. Laura-Jean the Knitting Queen) is the fashionable force who imagined a boutique where budding Toronto designers could gain wider exposure. Part of her recipe for success is quality over quantity