By Jasminee Sahoye
Photo by Jasminee Sahoye
He is 19 and fairly new to Canada from Grenada but already he’s found a niche market as an entrepreneur, making colourful wristbands and key chains with nylon/polyester fabric that are washable.
And some of the proceeds from the sale of the items have been shared with less fortunate kids in Brampton where Mark Antoine resides with his parents.
Antoine says he served as a camp councillor at the Boys and Girls Club of Peel and realized that some of the children who attended the camp didn’t have enough to eat. “I wanted to make bracelets and donate sales to the community, donate sales to the Boys and Girls Club.”
So, with his jewellery, as he calls his creations, he sells them and shares some of the proceeds to help kids in need.
“It’s the kids that motivate me to be honest,” he says. “They are the ones that make my day and I realize that I can make their day as well. I keep going – my mom pushes me; this could lead to other things. I don’t know what the future has for me.”
He tells The Camera at an event in Brampton, where he was showcasing his creations, he always liked jewellery and in consultation with his mother, he decided to pursue his passion of creating the colourful bracelets and started his business, Wrist Source.
While it’s still in its infancy, he has been able to sell $500 – $600 worth of the items since starting about a year ago.
“I kept looking up stuff online to build my ideas and try and see if I can make my own ideas out of it. So just using the resources that I get and then trying to make something a little more unconventional, I suppose.”
Antoine, attending college in a general arts and science program, says he hopes to become either a family lawyer or a behavioural psychologist.
He plans to create some additional pieces to his collection such as watches, belts and bracelets with charms in the form of people’s names.
This young entrepreneur is trying to attract more buyers and is using every possible avenue to showcase his products such as events and social media.
Anyone interested can email him at wristsource@gmail.com or follow his business on Instagram @wristsource and find him on Facebook.
Teen takes a ‘wrist shot’ and scores added by The Caribbean Camera Inc. on
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