Local vintage and secondhand shop Hawk & Sparrow offers unique, sustainable and affordable clothing for everyone
Hawk & Sparrow is a vintage, secondhand boutique, located downtown at 126 James St. N. Other than vintage items, they also sell secondhand designer and a mix of everything to accommodate everyone’s styles.
“I don't just do vintage, I also do secondhand designer and then . . . a mix of things. So you can expect a 1950s sweater with a ritzy top and then a Louis Vuitton bag. There's a wide range of brands,” said Sarah Moyal, the founder of Hawk & Sparrow.
Before launching Hawk & Sparrow in 2011, Moyal had a strong fashion background. She worked for Dsquared2 in Milan at their headquarters and did styling in Toronto.
She always wanted to open a clothing store. Originally, she had wanted to open a new clothing store, but she realized that buying inventory would be too expensive for her, so she switched over to second-hand. It worked for her, and it made her more interested in secondhand clothing.
“It's just so much more interesting to have one of everything. And every one of them is so unique,” said Moyal.
Moyal has experimented with making Hawk & Sparrow accessible through online platforms such as Etsy, but she now focuses most of her energy on the store itself, as she has found that it has been getting busier.
Moyal aims to make her store accessible and safe for everyone.
“I would say it's accessible to everyone and any direction of style that someone wants to go. If they want to play it a bit safe, we have that. If you want to go wild, we also have that,” said Moyal.
I would say it's accessible to everyone and any direction of style that someone wants to go and if they want to play it a bit safe, we have that. If you want to go wild, we also have that.
Sarah Moyal, Founder, Hawk & Sparrow
Most of the items are $5 to $25, and there are $5 mystery bags all year round. Moyal is also open to negotiations. She hopes that her customers will continue to find their favourite pieces at Hawk & Sparrow.
“I hope that people will kind of find their unique style here, that they'll discover something about themselves, that they'll not feel a pressure to dress a certain way or follow a certain trend, that they'll just feel free to dress how they want, how they feel,” explained Moyal.
I hope that people will kind of find their unique style here, that they'll discover something about themselves, that they'll not feel a pressure to dress a certain way or follow a certain trend, that they'll just feel free to dress how they want, how they feel.
Sarah Moyal, Founder, Hawk & Sparrow
Over the years, she has experimented with different directions –– such as only vintage (an item from another era, usually from the 1930s-70s), vintage artisan (very old and rare pieces from the 1800s-early 1900s that are typically made by hand) and only designer –– for the shop. The current iteration of her shop has had the best reception from the Hamilton community, and she intends to keep it this way for the time being.
Alex Moore-Gibson is raising money and awareness for breast cancer through her lifestyle brand
C/O Honey and Glow
When Alex Moore-Gibson opened Honey and Glow to sell her handmade and sustainable bath, body and home products seven years ago, it mainly served as an outlet to unleash her creative energy. Today, it has turned into something greater than just health and beauty. It encompasses messages of women empowerment, community and breast cancer awareness.
Growing up with problematic and sensitive skin, Moore-Gibson had trouble finding products that were both gentle and effective enough to meet her skin’s needs. To address this problem, she began making her own bath and body products using DIY kits her mother bought her. She continued this hobby all throughout high school and university.
After much encouragement from family and friends who received her handmade products as gifts, she opened Honey and Glow as a passion project aside from her regular day job as a teacher. She currently sells lip balm, sugar scrubs, loose-leaf teas and beeswax food wraps.
In 2019, Moore-Gibson temporarily closed the shop to welcome her second son. As Honey and Glow was growing rapidly, it became overwhelming to balance her day job and raise her two sons all the while maintaining Honey and Glow. During her break, at the age of 34, she was also diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.
Last year, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she underwent a mastectomy and began chemotherapy and radiation. Although these were some of the most brutal and darkest times, once she regained her energy, she needed Honey and Glow to relieve her suppressed creative spirit and find new direction and purpose as she finished up her treatment journey.
“Once I got through the really dark days and I started to have more energy, I was finding that I had this real energy, creative energy building up inside of me and I didn’t really know how to use it, especially during a pandemic,” said Moore-Gibson.
Honey and Glow recently reopened and is currently offering curbside pick up, online orders and delivery.
Moore-Gibson also started to donate a portion of the sales to Rethink Breast Cancer, a Toronto-based foundation focused on empowering women and families living with and affected by breast cancer. The donation is used for breast cancer awareness programs and events, research, resources and community work.
Moore-Gibson chose Rethink Breast Cancer because the stories of other breast cancer patients, survivors and families shared by the foundation served as a source of inspiration and comfort during her most difficult times.
Integrating her personal story in her work for Honey and Glow became very important for Moore-Gibson. Sharing her breast cancer journey has allowed her to connect with customers and supporters at a deeper level and engage in conversations with others affected by breast cancer.
“Even something as simple as the amount of women that have reached out to me being like, “Today is such a dark day and seeing your face and seeing your hair in a headband is giving me hope” makes it feel so worth it. It makes me want to keep going,” explained Moore-Gibson.
However, sharing her story online wasn’t easy. It took much courage and trust to post her vulnerable side on the internet.
“I’ve always had a very private social media account . . . so I was worried about being vulnerable. But I would say the response has been nothing but supportive,” said Moore-Gibson. “Sharing my breast cancer story has given me even more courage to share more and be more involved and to just keep going.”
The brand has become more meaningful and healing in ways that she could have never imagined. Her favourite part of running and growing her business has been being empowered and inspired by other young female entrepreneurs and building new friendships. Her love for her local community of supporters and like-minded small business owners has led her to do many collaborations and giveaway events with local makers and artisans.
From seven years of running Honey and Glow, Moore-Gibson has learned to believe in herself and to take a chance. She encourages others who may be hesitant to pursue their dreams to take their leap of faith.
