– from here –
Our Story
We love shopping local, but when we looked around at the usual “Shop Canadian” lists, we noticed something missing, so many incredible businesses weren’t being highlighted. As entrepreneurs ourselves, inspired by our immigrant parents and grandparents who built businesses from the ground up in Canada, we saw an opportunity to create something different.
That’s why we started From Here. A curated space that brings together small and medium-sized businesses from all over the country, ensuring that local shopping truly reflects the breadth of Canadian entrepreneurship. From rural makers to emerging brands, we’re shining a light on businesses that deserve to be seen and supported. We’re creating something beautiful, because shopping from here means uplifting everyone from here.
We’re adding new brands daily, and if we’ve missed your favorite, or if you’d like to help us expand our diverse list of Canadian entrepreneurs, we’d love to hear from you. Submit a brand here and help us uplift local businesses from coast to coast.
The Team
Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh
Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh is a small business owner, entrepreneur, and transformational change agent. As the daughter and granddaughter of entrepreneurs, she understands firsthand the power of visibility, access, and community in shaping business success.
Shavonne has spent over a decade working with leading companies like Red Bull, Shopify, and Wealthsimple, spanning equity and inclusion work, employee culture, people analytics, employee experience, learning and development, coaching, and facilitation. She is also the founder of SHM Consulting, where she partners with organizations to implement forward-thinking DEI and employee experience strategies.
Now, as a co-creator of From Here, Shavonne is leveraging her experience to build a platform that amplifies small and medium-sized businesses across Canada, ensuring that independent brands and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds get the visibility they deserve.
Christine Jinae Lee
Christine Jinae Lee is a seasoned product leader with a track record of building and scaling digital products across health, finance, and consumer platforms.
With over a decade of experience spanning product management, software development, finance, and entrepreneurship, Christine has worked with talented teams across high-growth startups and established firms, including League Inc., Code for Canada, TELUS Digital, and Deloitte. She connects people and ideas to bring visions to life through a mix of curiosity, thoughtful design, and a deep understanding of user needs.
Beyond her corporate experience, Christine is an entrepreneur and storyteller. She authored Hami’s Journey Home, a children’s book inspired by her grandparents’ escape from war and the enduring power of hope.
Her work is often driven by a desire to create meaningful impact. From Here is just that—a mission-driven initiative dedicated to shining a light on Canada’s diverse entrepreneurs and their inspiring journeys.
Christine lives in Toronto, where she enjoys playing tennis with her husband while expertly dodging her two young boys, who have other plans for the game.
Nina Coutinho
Nina Coutinho is an expert product leader who helps teams build digital experiences to meet user, business, and social impact goals. She brings people together to articulate and align their goals, and then efficiently and effectively create software, websites, or apps to fulfill them.
Over the past 15 years, Nina has honed these skills working with extraordinary teams of designers, developers, content strategists, and other collaborators at Shopify, Four Seasons, Loblaw Digital, BiblioCommons, and the Toronto Star. Her products have been used by millions of people around the world and in more than 20 languages.
Most recently, Nina has been working with public libraries to help them become more patron-responsive, data-informed, and digitally nimble.
Nina earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology (with minors in International Relations and Inequality Studies) from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration from McGill University. She is also a proud alum of the University of Toronto Schools.
Nina lives in Toronto and sings with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. You can find her hosting monthly dinner parties with her husband or walking her dog in one of the city’s 1500 parks.
F.A.Q
1. How can my business be included in From Here?
If you’re a Canadian small or medium-sized business and would like to be featured in our directory, you can submit your details here.
2. What if I need to update my business listing?
No problem! If you’d like to change your business tags (e.g., category, location, brand identity and values) or update any details, please email us at [email protected], and we’ll take care of it.
3. Does it cost anything to be featured?
No! Inclusion in From Here is completely free. Our goal is to amplify and support as many independent businesses as possible.
4. How can I support From Here?
You can help by sharing From Here with your community, nominating businesses to be featured, and, of course, shopping local! Tag us on Instagram @fromherecanada when you support a listed business—we’d love to highlight your finds.
5. Who can I contact for media inquiries?
For press and media inquiries, please reach out to us at [email protected].
6. Who can be included in From Here?
Right now, our main criteria is that the business is Canadian-founded. We may evolve this over time, but for now, we’re focused on showcasing businesses with Canadian roots.