Matt Walsh, Century Cycle; Tracey Starrett, Stirling Book Company; Ruth Gangbar, Foodography PEC;
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, but what about the added pressure of succeeding in business when your location is just a small dot on the map? The secret has something to do with being devoted to what you do, building a reputation for your work and loving where you live.
Tracey Starrett,
Stirling Book Company
These days, Tracey Starrett is revisiting all the classics from her degree in English and history, along with a few mystery novels. She’s a long-time book-lover who was thrilled to open her own bookstore in July (with devoted family support!) in Stirling, where the Starretts have lived since 2019. This new chapter in her life is reminiscent of her childhood in Wombwell, a small town in Yorkshire, where she loved to go to her local library. “I always wanted to be a librarian,” she says, although she works in human resources. “When I was six or seven, I remember thinking, ‘I can go back in and read all the books.’” Now she’s created a community shop for book events, reading clubs, and chances for kids to hang out in their special section – with featured titles selected by her dogs Charlie and Levi and a friend’s daughter, Poppy.
Ruth Gangbar,
Foodography PEC
Before the “cult of the chef” and its accompanying avalanche of food stylists, Ruth Gangbar was working in Toronto with media teams from Chatelaine and Canadian Living (and many more) as a top food stylist to create incredible food editorials in the 1980s and 90s. Earlier, she did stints as a baker and restaurant cook. While in the city, she found a getaway house by the Black River. “I’m still a dual citizen, working in the city and here,” she laughs. Her film and print clients for styling and recipe development are also here in the County area where she’s in demand for everything from advertising for the Waring House and the upcoming Ontario Cheese Festival in Picton to niche cookbook projects like Taste Buds by Nikki Fotheringham – all about cooking and baking with flowers.
photograph by cgentilephotography
Matt Walsh,
Century Cycle
Some people like to have a variety of shoes to suit the occasion…
Matt Walsh prefers bikes to shoes, like his mountain bike outfitted with wider tires for the sandy trails in Northumberland Forest, a fat bike for winter riding and a road cycling bike for the 40 km loop he often rides after work. He’s intense about biking. “For me, it’s always about challenging yourself, finding your weaknesses,” he says. A Colborne area native, Walsh started doing bike repairs from his home and then opened up his main street bike sales and service shop three years ago. He says there are so many cyclists in neighbouring towns who’ve become regular customers, and cyclists who pass right by his shop along the Toronto to Montreal corridor who like to stop in. “It’s great meeting new people and people new to the area.”
Story by:
Karen Hawthorne
