The collective space is an enterprising answer to the problem of soaring retail rent in some of Toronto’s rapidly gentrifying neighbourhoods. One such space is the home of Silver Falls Vintage at the foot of the trendy Ossington strip. Last spring, Silver Falls Vintage expanded it’s shop to incorporate LAB Consignment and most recently CHOSEN.
CHOSEN is the love child of Melissa Ball who with her crew, runs and organizes The Chosen Ones, a monthly vintage group sale. The monthly has gained such momentum that Ball was inspired and encouraged to run with it solo finding a niche with two other independent businesses. Last week, I attended the store opening and it looked fantastic, from what I could see through the crowd of many friends. Each shop has it’s own clearly defined space, offering items that are as unique as each of the distinct owners.
Some other collective spaces in West End Toronto include Freedom Collective, Fresh Collective and the newly formed 69 Vintage Collective. By banding together, collective spaces gives greater hope and incentive to new entrepreneurs to take that leap into selling their product and having a go at retail without having to take on a massive and often risky endeavour. New possibilities can be formed by bringing different talents and as a consumer it’s nice to shop in an establishment that offers multiple, yet complimentary products under one roof.