A bakery might not seem to have anything to do with life-drawing. But it does.
At NOOD, we believe collaboration goes far beyond what happens inside our studio.
Sometimes, collaboration looks like a life-drawing session with another arts organization. Sometimes, it sounds like live music. And sometimes, it smells like coffee and a table full of fresh pastries.
For our Sunday morning Pour Life Choices sessions, we source breakfast from Tommy’s Whole Grain Bakery. Tommy is our friendly neighbourhood baker. Good food made by good people.
Their ingredients are local, everything is baked fresh early that very morning, and whenever possible, ingredients come directly from the farm. There’s something reassuring about knowing where your food comes from — and knowing that real people put care into making it. And really, good food and good art belong together. After all, it’s hard to create on an empty stomach.
But there’s more to it than breakfast.
We believe strongly in supporting local businesses because seemingly unrelated businesses are often connected in extraordinary ways. The baker gets up early. The farmer grows the ingredients. The artists arrive that morning to draw. The model steps onto the platform. The coffee gets poured. The conversation starts. And somehow, a bakery has become part of a life-drawing session. That’s community.
Supporting local businesses isn’t always about formal partnerships. Sometimes it’s choosing where you spend your money. Sometimes it’s recommending someone. Sometimes it’s sharing their work. And sometimes it’s just a few kind words.
So we buy breakfast from Tommy — and we spread the love by telling our community about the good work he’s doing. Because good people deserve to be supported. Good businesses deserve to be seen. And the people who help make our community stronger deserve to know that their efforts matter.
Which brings us back to where we started: A bakery might not seem to have anything to do with life-drawing. But give us a Sunday morning, some fresh pastries, a cup of coffee, a room full of artists … and suddenly, it has everything to do with it.
Because breakfast isn’t just breakfast. Sometimes it’s a connection.
Because when we support one another, we all rise.