The Shop

It is probably extremely rare that two kindergarten friends end up starting a business together as adults but that is the origin of The Shop, a “makerspace” on College Street, west of Dufferin, founded by Michelle Organ and Marissa Maislin. Makerspaces are just that: places where people make things. In The Shop’s case, it’s woodworking, ceramics and crafts. “The idea is gaining in popularity here in Toronto,” says co-owner Michelle Organ, who first encountered Makerspaces in New York City while attending Parsons, the Manhattan-based design school. “More often, a makerspace is about one type of material but we wanted to give people the ability to work with multiple materials under one roof.”

In general, The Shop provides the space to work and store projects, and the tools and equipment—including an industrial sewing machine. It is up to the makers to bring the materials.