New online shop features gifts made by neurodiverse Montreal youth

A medley of sounds can be heard in the hallways of a school in downtown Montreal.

A lathe spins as woodworkers shape wooden utensils. Florists snip and snap away at flower stems. Sewing machines hum as tote bags take shape. In other words, business as usual.

"Everything that we do here helps to prepare students for the workplace," said Josh Cunningham, vice principal of the Transitional Education Career Centre (TECC), a branch of Summit School.

The TECC aims to help its hundred or so neurodiverse students, aged 16-21, transition from the classroom into the working world.

Except that Monday was a special day: the school just launched a new web store, featuring the handmade goods made by the students. 

Items for sale range from hand-made leather journals and colourful cards to marmalade and granola. 

Cunningham said he hopes the online store will help people see that his students are valuable, contributing members in the community. 

"I think the students' work will speak for itself," he said.

All the proceeds from sales will go back into school programming, helping to fund activities, outings and new tools. Three bucks will get you a keychain and $60 will buy you a seasonal bouquet.

"The outcome of the marketplace is really important to these students, because the capacity and their ability to take on new students is determined by the funding," said Catherine Blair-Timothy, the creative director at Lightspeed — the company that built the back end of their web store free of charge.

The site was designed to be as accessible and easy to use as possible, for both the makers and the buyers, she explained. Legible fonts, high-contrast colours and large clickable elements were all key.

As the new site went live Monday, second-year student Zachary Kruse was busy at work in the floral arrangement room. Of all the different trades he's tried at the school, this one is his favourite.

"I like all the flowers and stuff because they all smell so great," he said.

Plus, Kruse said, he continues to learn a lot on the job. 

"I didn't know that each flower has a certain meaning like the rose means love."

While selling gifts online is a new chapter for the students and staff, this is not the first time marketing their creations.

They've done many pop-up shops and artisan shows over the years, so the online store will only add to the skills these students are building.

Cunningham said he anticipates a flood of holiday shoppers on the new platform.