Young go-getters are growing under the wing of Lab•B

BY MARIELLE MANGANAAN

The Mill @ 60 Queen St. E., Brampton. (Photo provided by Harpreet Zingh via IndieGoGo.com)

A growing community of creative freelancers and entrepreneurs find their home in a small Brampton space.

The “shared workspace for the creative economy” inside The Mill on Queen St. E., Lab•B, is free and open during the week from 9 a.m. to 6 a.m. for people to come and have their artistic talents and business ambitions cultivated through a series of seminars, meetups and workshops.

Hailing from Brampton, co-founder Harpreet Zingh calls Lab•B “an alternative to working at home or in a coffee shop, a chance to share ideas and build networks, a chance to collaborate on new opportunities and keep professional skills sharp.”

This team of more than 10 people is looking to establish a strong creative economy in Brampton. Past events have included: Music Industry Night, regular schedules for Young Professionals Networking, as well as How To Pitch Your Business sessions.

Raymond To, 23, is a regular attendee of Lab•B. He’s lived in Brampton for three years, and has a passion for poetry, rap and hip-hop and in the last year has started a YouTube channel for his spoken word pieces, music, and video projects under his stage name ‘Ray To’.

Raymond To, 23, is an aspiring artist who produces spoken word and rap pieces.

“It’s a really creative environment with a unique culture where their mission is to help students and people with creative gifts in an entrepreneurial way,” said To.

“There are all kinds of people. Some are into design and gaming, others business-oriented. They connect people with different creative gifts. Say you’re a photographer, singer, engineer, whatever it may be you can make a business or profit out of, they want to facilitate a place where you can come for free and connect with each other.”

The members, local supporters, as well as sponsors from afar including founder of Collabinate, Jack Jones, visual designer, Ahmed Saleh, as well as Spark Education founder David Guida fund Lab•B collectively.

Both the founding and advisory team behind the grassroots community organization consists of established publicists, product and interaction designers, animators, videographers, entrepreneurs and young go-getters from Ryerson University and Western University.

“It’s not something you see a lot. They spend their time there and invest in young people,” said To.

“They’re interested and want to get to know your skills and gifts, what it is you’re working towards and see if they can mentor you in some way to build from that.”

The venue also exists as a platform for showcasing different projects and events from art exhibitions, design and coding workshops, to discussions on relevant topics such as mental health.

Daniel Mandani, 26, is a friend of To’s as well as fellow music collaborator. Upon learning about Lab•B, Mandani sees that the creative community that exists today in the local scale is just what he would have needed in his younger days.

Daniel Mandani, 26, left, and Raymond To, 23, work collaboratively in rap music and discovered Lab•B as a way to connect in the creative community.

“Back in high school all we did was come in a circle and just rap to each other. It was something fun we did as friends,” said Mandani.

“Now young artists are active and looking to make it big and get money. It’s good that there are outlets available all over for them.”

The organization recognizes the growing independent pursuits of both students and young graduates, acting as the link between the different roles to encourage co-working and collaboration in order to beat youth unemployment.

To find out more about Lab•B and their initiative, visit their website and their Facebook page.

For information on operations and how to give your support, visit their campaign page.

To check out music and projects by Ray To, visit his YouTube channel.