Since 2012, Chuck Magri has been the owner and operator of Wildflowers Honey, located just on the south edge of St. Thomas. "I never wanted to have bees," Chuck said with a laugh. "I actually wanted to start a small agricultural business. . . I looked at a few different options, read some books, and decided to buy two colonies and see how it went. One died and one lived, and I ended up liking it and now it's grown to what it is today." Chuck now has 125 colonies (only a couple more than the two he started out with) spread out across St. Thomas and Elgin County, and he has been a staple fixture at the Horton Farmers' Market since becoming a vendor around 2016/2017. 

You can trace the roots of Howe Family Farms all the way back to the late 1800s, when the first generation settled into the quiet concessions of Elgin County. They grew what the land gave them, probably without imagining that, over a century later, their great-great-grandchildren would be farming those very same fields—with a few modern updates, of course.

Roughly six years ago, Brian Leverton of 2 Dogs Candle Co. purchased a candle for himself and his wife to enjoy at home. But after lighting the candle, it didn't burn properly; instead of burning out, it burnt right down the middle. Brian decided to take the candle to a local shop in St. Mary's (Village Craft & Candle) to find out why the candle burned improperly, where they explained the problem. "They put too small of a wick in it, so it couldn't create enough heat," Brian explained. The owners suggested that Brian and his wife take their candle making course to learn more, and after finishing the course they had some finished candles. "My daughter at the time was living in Yellow Knife so she took a few [candles] back there, and then she said 'Can you send me up some more?', and it just kind of grew from there."