We congratulate two DMBIA members who recently received awards from the Milton Chamber of Commerce. The Barn Door Studio and Melani Bastians were both recognized at the Chamber’s Virtual Community Awards on June 29-30.
The Barn Door Studio received the Resident Small Business of the Year Award. They have shown dedication to the community and resilience during the recent pandemic. While the pandemic has been a challenge, the Barn Door Studio kept their employees’ jobs secure and implemented strict COVID protocols to keep workspaces safe. A successful new website was created to let customers to order for curbside, free local delivery, or shipping. The Barn Door Studio enjoys being connected to the Milton community with workshops for children’s parties, girls’ nights out, team building, an even outside events at Holy Rosary School and police headquarters. When a Hollywood film was shooting outside the store, The Barn Door Studio donated the financial compensation they received from the production company to Halton Women’s Place. Since 2017, the business has had exponential sales growth.
Melani Bastians, owner of Caribbean Vibes and The Green Eatery received the Citizen of the Year Award. Melani started an initiative which takes rescued food from community partners and cooks hot meals with the local volunteers. No One Goes Hungry has grown exponentially in the past five months, providing over 14,517 meals from July 2020 until the end of March 2021…and so many more by now! Also, at Caribbean Vibes, Melani has a community fridge. Any time the restaurant is open, any member of the community can come get a bag of fresh produce, frozen meals, meats, dairy, and bread. Melani is the bridge to her fellow Miltonians. She supports many organizations in Milton including Halton Women’s Place, Milton District Hospital Foundation, Darling Home for Kids, Townsend Smith Foundation, many churches with hot food and food bags, mentorship programs, free meals program, and youth programs. Melani is always willing to support initiatives that make Milton a better place to live for our young generation.
