Pretty Elevated by Irisa, a Social Impact Initiative Dedicated to Amplifying the Female Voice, Launches in Toronto

Pretty Elevated pop-up event series at Stackt Market empowers and celebrates local women entrepreneurs in Toronto

TORONTO, Aug. 15, 2019 /CNW/ - High Park Holdings Ltd. launches Pretty Elevated by Irisa, a community driven collective and social impact initiative dedicated to empowering women and creating opportunities that amplify the female voice through community and connectivity. Pretty Elevated will operate a six-week pop-up at Stackt Market located in downtown Toronto featuring a curated space with rotating retail programming for start-up entrepreneurs, workshop events and a co-working lounge. 

Pretty Elevated by Irisa at Stackt Market (CNW Group/High Park Company)

Pretty Elevated by Irisa at Stackt Market (CNW Group/High Park Company)

"Pretty Elevated is about creating a space and community that empowers women to pursue personal and professional growth." says Adine Fabiani-Carter, Chief Marketing Officer at High Park. "We have swimsuit designers, art curators, life coaches, a shared work space and so much more. We're here to support local entrepreneurs by giving them a platform to amplify their businesses and expand their audience. We invite and encourage people in city of Toronto to join us in celebrating these great local businesses."

Pretty Elevated by Irisa at Stackt Market will feature a rotating selection of local women-owned businesses, each at different stages of their entrepreneurial journeys and looking to scale up. Each entrepreneur will be given the opportunity to activate in the Pretty Elevated space for two weeks, rent free, to promote their business and grow their customer base.

The inaugural Pretty Elevated programming includes a collective of over 20 female entrepreneurs including:

August 15^th – 27^th:
-  BirdieFit, a beyond basics, digital-first clothing store for women on the go
- Wild Moon, an afro-futurist inspired jewelry and clothing brand
- Smitten Swim, a high-quality swimwear brand for the adventurous made locally in Toronto.

August 28^th – September 11^th
-  Bag and Bougie, a collection of durable fabric, machine washable and eco-friendly totes and bucket bags
- Peoples Product, stylish fair-trade clothing created by women for women
- Cherry Gardens, a women's loungewear and underwear collection

September 12^th – 22^nd,
- Threads, an ethically sourced and subscription tights brand
- Sarisha Beauty, a Canadian-made vegan beauty brand
- Eugenia Chan, a contemporary jewelry line for the modern woman.

The inaugural group of Pretty Elevated entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to launch their business in the pop-up and connect with new customers. Prime retail spaces in downtown Toronto come at a cost that many start-up businesses cannot afford. The Pretty Elevated initiative and retail pop-up offers a complementary space, payment processing, furnishing and promotion to each one of its inaugural partners.

"Creating Birdie Fit has been a dream for my best friend and me," said Ashley Moraca, Co-Founder of Birdie Fit. "We've been a digital-first shop because the cost of retail leases in Toronto are dramatically high, it's not easy for someone starting out to find an affordable storefront. Partnering with Pretty Elevated and activating with a pop-up in a high traffic area will help us channel and unlock our business potential."

Creating Spaces for Meaningful Conversations 
Pretty Elevated at Stackt will also include access to a co-working space for guests to collaborate and create. The lounge will feature a curated library filled with feminist literature for inspiration, comfy seating,  complementary WIFI and a life coach on Wednesdays to provide free advice.

Simultaneously, Pretty Elevated by Irisa will also run a range of community workshops open to the public, and provide community space to leading Toronto women's collectives. The community programming begins August 19th and runs until September 19th.

August 20^th:
-  Tao-Ming Lau, Women in Music
August 22^nd:
-  Bad Girl Collective, Read 011 with Claudia Day
August 27^th:
-  Ashley Mckenzie Barnes, Building Blocks Daily: A Steady Move to Success
September 3^rd:
-  Desiree Mckenzie, Writing & Poetry Reading
September 9^th:
-  Mitsu, Sogetsu Ikebana Workshop
September 10^th:
-  Ashley Mulvihill of Ninth Editions, Art Collecting 101
September 11^th:
-  Elena's Club, Brand building in a Digital Age
September 12^th:
-  April Wozney, Casie Stewart, Yamikani, The New Clean
September 15^th:
-  Toronto Thriver Meet-Up in Partnership with Rethink Breast Cancer
September 16^th:
-  Monday Girl, Making Money Moves: Investing 101
September 17^th:
-  Jacquelyn West, Carmen Douville, Jade Lee Hoy and Natasha Kajganic,
September 18^th:
-  Meghan Yuri Young, The SAD Collective
September 19^th:
-  Tonya Papanikolov, Chakras, energy flow, food

To learn more about Pretty Elevated by Irisa and to sign up for workshops, please visit www.prettyelevated.ca 

About Irisa™
Irisa is a women's wellness brand created with modern health and wellness seekers in mind. Irisa products include oil drops designed to naturally integrate with consumers' self-care rituals.

About High Park Company
Based in Toronto and led by a team with deep experience in cannabis and global consumer brands, High Park was established to develop, produce, sell, and distribute a broad-based portfolio of adult-use cannabis brands and products. High Park is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tilray, Inc., a global leader in cannabis cultivation, processing, and distribution.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, or collectively, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as, "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "expect", "anticipate", "believe, "intend", "plan", "forecast", "project", "estimate", "outlook" and other similar expressions, including statements in respect to Pretty Elevated and other social impact initiatives launched by High Park Company. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, including assumptions in respect of current and future market conditions, the current and future regulatory environment and future approvals and permits. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from that expressed in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements in this press release, and, accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements and they are not guarantees of future results. Please see the heading "Risk Factors" in Tilray's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulators on May 15, 2019, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual future results or anticipated events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. Tilray does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that are included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE High Park Company

Rachel Shore, 647-618-9531, [email protected] or Emily Naddaf, 416-995-1276, [email protected]