Latest news with #KatieGray
CTV News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Former Scarborough RT car to become station for new Toronto Zoo train ride
One of the 28 cars that was once part of the decommissioned Scarborough rapid transit line will soon have a new life as a station for the Toronto Zoo's new train ride. (TTC/photo) One of the 28 cars that was once part of the decommissioned Scarborough rapid transit (RT) line will soon have a new life as a station for the Toronto Zoo's new train ride. The station with the former RT vehicle will be located within the zoo's Tundra Trek area, which has polar bears and arctic wolves, a zoo spokesperson said. 'This will for sure be the coolest station on site,' Katie Gray said in an email to CP24 on Thursday. Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green said when the six-station, 6.4-kilometre Line 3 was decommissioned following the derailment of a southbound train near Ellesmere Station on July 24, 2023, the TTC considered options for its 28 cars, ranging from 'selling to scrapping them.' 'Selling for parts or scrap or donation is how we dispose of all our old/decommissioned vehicles,' he said. In the end, 24 of the vehicles were sold to the City of Detroit, which Green said 'expressed a need for parts and made the best proposal.' Two cars were donated to the Halton Region Museum, while the other one was donated to the Toronto Zoo. The one train that was severely damaged in the derailment was scrapped, Green noted. Gray, of the zoo, said the blue RT vehicle won't likely be installed and open there for about a month. Its exact final spot is also still being determined, she said. Scarborough RT car donated to Toronto Zoo One of the 28 cars that was once part of the decommissioned Scarborough rapid transit line will soon have a new life as a station for the Toronto Zoo's new train ride. (TTC/photo) The car destined for the Toronto Zoo departed from a TTC yard earlier today, the TTC said. 'The last UTDC/Bombardier/Alstom Scarborough RT car (#3008) left the premises this morning and arrived at its new home...a place where many rare and exotic beasts dwell: the Toronto Zoo,' a post on X read.
Metropolis Japan
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metropolis Japan
Nerd Nite Tokyo #70: Art and Action
Curious minds, this one's for you. Nerd Nite Tokyo #70: Art and Action invites you to an evening where creativity meets real-world impact. This edition features two fascinating talks: one by a neuroscientist exploring how art affects the brain (Nicholas Schwier) and another by a nonprofit leader tackling child poverty in Japan—and how we can help (Katie Gray, LinkedIn). Held in a cozy lounge with drinks and food available, Nerd Nite offers more than just lectures. It's a social gathering where ideas flow as freely as the craft beer. Whether you're a science enthusiast, art lover, or just nerdy at heart, this is your chance to learn something new, meet like-minded people and be part of a curious community. Kids are also welcome at Nerd Nite. No need to be an expert— just bring your curiosity and a willingness to think differently. Come for the talks, stay for the conversations. The event will be livestreamed, but livestream tickets are required. A donation of ¥1,000 is suggested, but a free option is also available. To help prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, Nerd Nite recommend mask use at their events and encourages you to stay up to date on all vaccinations.
NZ Herald
01-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Small Business: Giftbox Boutique's journey from garage start-up to pandemic success
We started back in 2016 in a garage, so the quintessential New Zealand business story. When we started out gift baskets were very old fashioned. I felt like there was an opportunity for something that could be much more premium. We also recognised the shift that was starting to happen between traditional bricks and mortar and online shopping. My background is in marketing, and my husband's is in sales and digital marketing, so we had a good skill set and understanding of what it takes to launch a business online. We jumped into the deep end, quit our jobs, and much to our surprise, as much as anyone else's to be honest, the business has just grown from there. Giftbox Boutique operated out of co-founder Katie Gray's mum's garage, stacking orders to the ceiling until it had to find a bigger space. How do you choose what goes into each box? We have about 150 different gift boxes to choose from which contain a selection of upwards of 200 local New Zealand products, everything from wine and craft beer to home fragrances and homewares. We're lucky now we're the size we are, we get approached daily with companies that are wanting us to put their products in our boxes. And so we are quite strict in terms of what criteria we work with. The first thing for us is we're an online store, so our customers can't touch, feel, or smell the product, so it has to look amazing to begin with because they're shopping with their eyes. Secondly, the product has to be high quality and taste amazing. Thirdly, we also like to partner with New Zealand suppliers where possible. Our preference is typically for products that aren't stocked in a supermarket. For things that feel a little bit more premium, we like to try and partner with some small New Zealand producers, because that's also a nice way for us to be able to help support other small businesses to help them get their brands out to customers. How was the Covid-19 pandemic for the business? Covid was a very interesting time for us. We were coming off the back of really strong growth and then retail shut down. I always explain it that it was like adding fuel to a fire, we just went ballistic. We were lucky that we were still able to operate with a skeleton crew, because at the start things were very unknown, and we were all trying to work out how to work safely, but to still be able to help our customers. Demand just went absolutely crazy, I think we had something like 200%-300% growth during those Covid times. Growth brings with it its own sets of challenges. One of the things that's always been really important and an absolute non-negotiable for us is product quality. So for us, whether it's one gift box or 1000 gift boxes going out the door, I want them to look equally amazing. So it was about managing the volume of sales to make sure that output quality didn't decline in any way, because that's our brand and our business, and I want every customer that receives a boutique gift box to have an amazing experience. Katie and Andy Gray, co-founders of Giftbox Boutique, started the business after spotting a gap in the premium gift box market. What would be your advice to a budding entrepreneur wanting to start a business? My biggest piece of advice would be to trust your instincts and just give it a go. I think it's easy to doubt yourself and to spend too long polishing something before getting it out there. One of the big things, especially with online marketing, is people talk about minimum viable product in terms of getting something live and testing it to see what the feedback is. If you spend too long in your planning phase, you'll never feel ready. There will come a time when you just have to leap, because things won't be 100% perfect. Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
