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When Casey and Ben embraced the opportunity to become small business owners, they didn't take the decision lightly. They carefully weighed the potential risks against the anticipated rewards and concluded that the venture's cost-to-risk ratio was unquestionably favorable.

Over the past two years, Meeple and Sheep have enjoyed steady and organic growth with minimal marketing efforts. Looking ahead, they are eager to enhance their online presence through social media engagement and targeted advertising. Additionally, they plan to actively participate in various local festivals and markets.

Their involvement in community events has been notable, including their presence at "Pints in the Park" in Manor Park on July 23, 2023, and the "Sunset Soiree" at the Manor Park Community Center on July 2, 2023. Furthermore, Meeple and Sheep regularly host engaging game nights in Ottawa, such as the Wednesday night gatherings at the Prescott Downtown, offering both delectable food and entertaining games. Notably, they play an active role in organizing game nights for select units of the Girl Guides of Canada in the Ottawa region.

Their commitment to community support is commendable. They sponsored a drag show in Perth recently and will be donating a portion of their sales to the Queer Connection Lanark, an organization focusing on increasing the visibility of 2LGTBQI+ community in that area. 

Meeple and Sheep not only participate in markets and events but also maintain a robust online presence through their website (www.meepleandsheep.ca), as well as Facebook and TikTok accounts. While they don't have a physical storefront at this time, their virtual presence allows them to cater to a wide customer base.

Eliana Liu, the President of The Writer's Space, says, "The Writers’ Space brings together students of all writing abilities, whether you are interested in fiction, nonfiction, scripts or even poetry.This creative writing club is a student group dedicated to creating a safe and welcoming space for students to bond over a shared passion for creative writing. We aim to foster an environment where students feel comfortable to share, exchange ideas and get inspired".  

At The Writer's space, members can choose to participate in monthly themes, weekly prompts and even competitions. For example, last month The Writer's Space's monthly theme was "Paragraphs". Some of their weekly prompts included "Write a paragraph introducing a character" and "Write a paragraph describing a setting". About the weekly prompts, Eliana Liu says "By using our weekly prompts, our meetings are chances to make genuine connections, explore your limitless creative potentials and develop confidence in writing". This month, The Writer's Space will be participating in "The Polar Bear Expressions" short story and poetry contest.  

Over the course of this year, "The Writer's Space" hopes to continue with monthly themes such as Poetry and Short Stories and to run competitions every other month.  "The Writer's Space" also plans to hold workshops with published authors on script and novel writing.

"The Writer's Space" provides a "collaborative work space for members to write, share ideas, and provide constructive feedback for each other’s work.", says Liu. She promotes a specific way of giving feedback, where members are encouraged to give constructive criticism in an "I noticed-" format, so that their critique is not negative, and does not discourage fellow members from continuing to write.