Girl Boss

Sinead Sugrue is the owner of Eight on Main, a new boutique & outdoor event space located in Historic Markham Village. Spread over two floors of an historic home, the store offers everything needed to complete an outfit or a gift for someone special. The first floor houses casual and work-appropriate separates & dresses, shoes, jewelry & accessories along with a Makers Space filled with small business artisanal gifts & treats. The second floor offers a cozy formal dress shop, lovingly named THE DRESS DIVA, with in-house alterations. Eight on Main is more than a boutique – Sinead’s vision is to create a space that brings people together; a place that promotes both small businesses and makers through pop-up events indoors and a variety of engaging outdoor events for the Markham community to experience when the weather permits.

Why do I love being a Girl Boss? I get to work with strong, talented, amazing women in the store, encourage confidence in people who need it, celebrate the creativity of other small businesses and artists, and most of all, I get to experience the joy of human connection through every person that walks through the door. I’m a lucky lady!

Address: 8 Main St N, Markham, ON L3P 1X2

Website: www.eightonmain.com

Instagram: @eightonmainboutique

Hi, I’m Alison Jackson the owner of Redefined Finds in Stouffville and the newly opened RF Artisan Market in Markham! Coming from a background in Country Music Television and a degree in Radio and Television, I never dreamed I would one day own my own retail shops, much less two! It is truly is a dream job and I couldn’t be happier being a Girl Boss, a Mom, an Entrepreneur and hopefully an active member of the community. With the RF Artisan Market, I try very hard to create a welcoming space where the community can come to appreciate the local talent we have within our midst and celebrate that creativity. Also, a space where artisans can showcase their beautiful creative products and share them with our community!

Address: 75 Main St N, Markham, ON L3P 1X7

Website: www.redefinedfinds.ca

Instagram: @rf_artisanmarket

Solace Massage therapy has been in Markham Village for 22 years. We help our community heal and feel good through massage therapy. Combined, our therapists have over 100 years of experience and have worked together for decades. We offer RMT treatments including reflexology, cupping, hot stone, laser therapy, reiki, cranial sacral, deep tissue and seaweed facials, to name a few.

Our clientele range from babies to octogenarians and everything in between. From trauma, sports injury, pregnancy, post-surgical, stress, headaches, anxiety, depression, broken bones, we can help with it all. We love what we do!

As a women-run business, I love coming to work every day and helping people from clients to my wonderful colleagues make their lives better and healthier. I’m always looking for new innovative ways people can be in control and advocate for their healthcare. Through COVID-19 I was fortunate enough to take some courses in social media, helped design my website, went paperless, explored online booking, re-branded our clinic, send weekly newsletters to keep folks updated, streamlined our payment processor and had photos done to showcase what we do.

Our Markham Village community is a great place to live and work. I participate in the Business Improvement Area as a board member helping with events like the music festival, contests and sharing through social media events going on locally.

Address: 3 Centre St, Markham, ON L3P 3P9

Website: www.solacemassage.ca

Instagram: @solacemassagetheray

Hi, I am Alxio, Cookie Entrepreneur and Girl Boss since 2006! I am a Latina, wife, mom of three, and baker fanatic. A few years ago, I quit my job and followed my heart. After baking every dessert on earth, little by little, cookies became the center of the universe. Today, Passion for Desserts is a well-established cookie business in Markham that caters to wholesalers, companies and individuals.

I am a Girl Boss! I love every minute of it and would not change it for the world! The feeling of empowerment to plan the future, execute, change the status quo, influence and contribute to the well-being of our employees is the best satisfactory feeling of being an Entrepreneur.  Any roadblock is an opportunity for creative solutions. Every day is up to us! The future is up to us!

Address: 6545 Hwy 7, Markham, ON L3P 3B4

Website: www.passionfordesserts.ca

Instagram: @passionfordesserts

Glasstronomy Studios is a female-owned and operated creative arts venture in Markham. We specialize in the art of stained and kiln-formed glass. Whether creating custom work, hosting and teaching workshops, or sharing our space with other creatives, we use our team’s extensive knowledge and experience to navigate each challenge and opportunity.

Why we love being Girl Bosses? That’s a cute moniker, but make no mistake, we are women entrepreneurs who thrive on sharing our love of glass with others. While a huge percentage of our customers and members are female, our mandate is to bring glass appreciation to a wider audience. From introducing the medium to high schools, retirees, and everyone in between, our innovative practice is sharing it in an accessible, fun, and safe way.

Address: 2600 John St. #108, Markham, ON L3R 3W3

Website: www.glasstronomystudios.ca

Instagram: @glasstronomystudios

I am Sarah Hosaki and I own Turning Hedz Creations Hair Studio. We are an eco-friendly salon and low/no-waste retailer. We take pride in growing our retail to include products for self-care as well as home care needs. When possible, we have sourced items that are from Canadian and, even better, female-owned companies. We also love looking for products that have a refillable option or are compostable or biodegradable. Over the years we have been a collection location for many community donation initiatives, and we are always looking for ways to give back. A big part of our goal is empowering women whether it is those sitting in our chair, the friends they buy a gift for, or those who receive the donations that we collect.

I was raised in an entrepreneurial family and always knew I wanted to work for myself. Previous to owning the salon I was an independent contractor in most fields I dabbled in. Being a “Girl Boss” is important to me because it is another way to show my young boys how amazing women are, the strength, power and determination women have, and the impact we can make on others’ lives. They were shocked in a conversation recently to hear that there was a time not that long ago when women didn’t have rights. Their response to me was “how is that possible, women are like superheroes.” It is not just about my children, but to be a healthy role model for the young girls (and boys) in our community. For me, it allows me to have a business that is run on my values and desires and as time goes on it allows us to impact more lives in more ways. A piece of me is in everything we do and I am able to create a business that reflects that.

Address: 2925 Bur Oak Ave, Markham, ON L6B 1E6

Website: www.turninghedz.com

Instagram: @turninghedz

Founder and creative designer, Connie Cho (also known as CC), comes from a long line of family florists and opened her own flower shop in 2016.

Flowers By CC is a Markham-based flower shop with the sole purpose of providing the highest quality flowers with unique, high-end designs. Our elegant, simple, and modern designs make our arrangements a great gift for your friends, family and loved ones. We specialize in custom floral arrangements as well as event and wedding floral services. Our team can help walk you throughout service and customize our designs to fit your requirements and special occasions.

Address: 139 Main St Unionville #103, Unionville, ON L3R 2G6

Website: www.flowersbycc.ca

Instagram: @flowers_by_cc

Tripl3 Baked is a nut-free bakery in Markham in the Cornell community! The company started with three best friends, Leah, Melissa, and Gabriela, discovering their hidden passion for “CAKING” back in 2009 with all things baked: putting together creative designs, and experimenting with flavour. It quickly spiralled into a business venture they now share as TRIPL3 BAKED.

In 2014, we opened our bakery and it’s been an incredible journey since. We offer custom cakes (with gorgeous figurines all created by hand and edible), cookies, cupcakes, brownies, cookie tarts, mini pies, banana bread, cookie dough bars, cheesecake bars, and so much more. Late last year, we introduced daily menus including Rooted Wednesdays taking us back to our roots – meshing all Canadian, Filipino and El Salvadorian desserts together!

We’ve learned so much along the way and are proud of what we’ve accomplished thus far as GIRL BOSSES! We are truly excited for all the new projects we have planned and can’t wait to introduce all the yummy goodies to our customers!

Address: 2677 Bur Oak Ave Unit 2, Markham, ON L6B 1K8

Website: www.tripl3baked.com

Instagram: @tripl3baked