I have never been to the Athlete’s Village, which makes this a pleasurable outing. After a leisurely Saturday breakfast with my husband, we visited the show. Women would love this show as it has many inspiring and original handcrafted accessories.

Above photo shows Magda Garbacz at her booth

I used to carry big purses to work, and continue to carry these big purses around on the weekends. Now, I own one of Magda’s “light” shoulder clutch bag for non-working days. I must say it is quite a liberating experience not to lug a big purse around. The bag I purchased has a red color similar to the one shown on the photo below. Surprisingly, I was able to fit a pair of reading glasses, a small wallet with a credit card, some business cards and a few paper bills.

I also like her bigger shoulder bags which have handsketched and silk screened designs. They look unique and trendy, and feature bright colors. These shoulder bags will look really sharp with an all black outfit.

Portobello West is now open from 11am to 5pm on the last Sunday of every month (except its two day March, November and December Markets open 11am – 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday). Worth a visit, as it has a lot of bling, retro designs, vintage inspired designs and much more……

I just received an email from Vivian Prokop, CEO of the CYBF – Canadian Youth Business Foundation on winning the prestigious “Country of the Year Award” by Kauffman Foundation and Enterprise U.K., founder of the Global Entrepreneurship Week. The announcement was made at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where CYBF represented Canada. CYBF competed against more than 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States of America for the “Country of the Year” award.

As a CYBF volunteer business mentor, I am very happy for the organization. Without the funding assistance of CYBF, my mentee, a young lady in her early 20’s will never have the chance to launch her business.   The image on the top shows the different stages of business, and how CYBF along with a volunteer business mentor assist the youth entrepreneur with planning, financing and coaching.

“It is an honour to represent Canada at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Dubai,” said Vivian Prokop, chief executive officer of CYBF. “To have received this huge distinction proves the impact of CYBF in the global arena. We were deeply honoured to partner with outstanding like-minded Canadian organizations to advance a strong culture of entrepreneurship during GEW 2009, and are proud to be the official host of GEW Canada for the next three years (2010-2012).

The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is a national charity dedicated to growing our nation’s economy one young entrepreneur at a time. CYBF looks at character not collateral, when providing youth, age 18-34, with pre-launch coaching, business resources, start-up financing and mentoring, to help them launch and sustain a successful entrepreneurial business.

Founded in 1996, to date, CYBF has invested in more than 3,500 young entrepreneurs in communities across Canada. These businesses have generated over $92 million in tax and export revenues, and have created more than 16,900 new jobs. Through CYBF’s national network of community partners, CBYF was able to deliver their program coast to coast with more than 3,100 volunteers across Canada.

Read about The Rise of Self Employment in Canada.