Pride Guide: LGBTQ+ Owned Brands and Neighbourhood Hubs We Love

Featured photo from @blairimani

Pride Month is steeped in history — in demonstrations and riots, celebrations and movements, complexities, reflections, and so much more. There are gains and unfortunately, there are losses each year for the LGBTQ+ community.

While we want to celebrate the good, we must acknowledge there is still much work to do to show up for LGBTQ+ folks, to demand lasting equity, to make reparations, to stand alongside, to listen, to amplify, to honour. There is much work to do individually and systemically.

This Pride Month, while we do this work personally, we also want to celebrate some of the brilliant and beautiful makers we stock year-round who are members of the LGBTQ+ communities, as well as some amazing local LGBTQ+ owned businesses. 

This guide brings together reflections from our team, resources we love, and LGBTQ+ owned makers and organizations we proudly support all year long. We invite you to explore these  businesses, share your favourites and keep the conversation going beyond Pride month.

LGBTQ+ Makers + Brands We Carry

Scout is proud to carry goods from talented LGBTQ+ makers and businesses all year round. Learn about a few of our faves and browse our LGBTQ+ Makers + Brands collection online here.

• Skipping Stone: Small-batch soaps and shampoo bars made in Burlington by Masa using all-natural ingredients and minimal packaging.

• Happy Tears: Bilingual card games for meaningful connections.

• Frug / Tamara Steinborn: Longtime friend of Scout, Tamara’s upcycled jewelry and mystical cast pieces are made right here in Toronto.

• Ash & Chess: Queer and trans-owned stationery company based in Virginia, known for their bold, neon designs and Queer Tarot Deck.

• Yellow Dots: Handmade contemporary whimsical jewelry.

• Badger + Burke: Colourful and eclectic paper goods and items for the home.

• Ohh Deer: Greeting cards, gifts and stationery for all types of occasions. 

LGBTQ+ Businesses We Love

We want to send some love to our friends and neighbours that are LGBTQ+ owned! Be sure to check out some of these local businesses and show your support year-round!

• Glad Day Bookshop – Canada’s first and oldest queer bookstore and event space.

• Craig’s Cookies – Iconic homemade cookies available at three Toronto locations.

• Red Sky Shop – A Collingwood-based online store for clothing and accessories.

• Anti Vice Juicery – A juice and smoothie bar serving up fresh sips in Dufferin Grove.

• Flamingo Market – A marketplace and online directory of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

• Proudest Pony – A gender-free hair salon offering affirming, expressive styles.

• Old’s Cool General Store – A community-focused shop for thoughtful goods.

• Raise the Root Market – An organic grocery store rooted in Leslieville.

• LES Studio – A queer, women- and immigrant-owned gender-neutral hair studio.

• Witch Hazel Tattoo – A safe, inclusive studio offering custom tattoos.

• Bar Bacan – Delicious Argentinian and Venezuelan food near our Roncy location.

• Three Dollar Bill – A queer community bar and event space in Parkdale.

• Café Neon + Bar Neon – A café and cocktail spot offering globally inspired eats.

• Sweaty Betty’s – One of Toronto’s OG dive bars, now proudly queer-owned.

• Little Ghosts –  Queer Owned bookshop with a focus on Queer Horror.

• Bistitchual –  Your crafty, queer, Canadian yarn store.

• Lox + Schmear – Small batch fish smoke house.

• Sin Verguenza – A craft club for casual artists 🌈🏳️⚧️✨✊🏽

Community Organizations + Hubs 

One of the most powerful ways to show up for LGBTQ+ communities is through direct financial support. Here are a few organizations doing incredible work:

• Pride Toronto – One of the largest Pride festivals in the world culminating in a massive month-long celebration every June.

• The 519 – Offers legal clinics, housing support, education, and community programming for 2SLGBTQ+ people.

• Glad Day Lit Fund – Supports queer artists, writers, and performers through the Glad Day Bookshop community.

• Rainbow Railroad – Helps  LGBTQ2S+ people around the world escape violence and persecution.

• Rainbow Health Ontario – Works to improve access to safe, affirming health care for 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

• Toronto PFlag – Provides support and education to help keep LGBTQ2S+ families together.

• Buddies in Bad Times Theatre – A renowned queer theatre committed to developing and showcasing queer voices.

• Trans Lifeline – A peer support hotline and microgrants program for the trans community, by the trans community.

Other Resources From Our Team

These links and articles were shared by our staff. You can read their full reflections here.

• The ArQuives – Canada's  LGBTQ2S+ archive preserving queer history since 1973.

• The Toronto Bathhouse Raids – A key moment in local queer history.

• The Stonewall Uprising – A pivotal point in the global LGBTQ+ rights movement.

• Performance of Transgender Inclusion – An article that explores performative versus genuine inclusion.

• Track Two: Enough is Enough – A documentary on Pride’s roots and the Toronto bathhouse raids.

• Everywhere is Queer – An app for finding queer-owned businesses and safe spaces globally.

• Bi_Invisibility – An Instagram community supporting bi+ folks in straight-presenting relationships.

• Yohomo – A Toronto-based collective spotlighting queer arts, culture, and nightlife.
  

We hope this guide provides you with some new found ways to support the LGBTQ+ community year-round! Sending so much love out to our LGBTQ+ Scout family members! We see you, we love you and we are teeming with warmth because of the diversity and beauty of our community. If you have any favourite local businesses within this community, please share them with us in the comments below and Happy Pride!