Support for The Colour Spectrum and Cake Therapy

Hi, my name is Lauren and I own The Colour Spectrum: An Inclusive Children's Art Studio. I started the studio as a space for my oldest daughter, April.

April is autistic, non-speaking, and 8 years old. I made the space because I felt like most places that we went as a family (we have 4 kids) claimed to be "autism-friendly" but when we got there, they weren't really equipped for an older, non-speaking child. We would often get strange looks, asked why she wasn't responding to questions, told that she should behave differently and unfortunately I often felt like we were a burden.

This is something I wanted to remove and so I created a space. The Colour Spectrum is Edmonton's only autism/neurodivergent-focused art studio. We are run by an all neurodivergent staff and we aim to be a welcoming space for EVERYONE, regardless of neurotype.

TCS was also supposed to house my bakery, Cake Therapy. Unfortunately as a first time business owner, I was naïve when I rented the space we chose. It had everything I thought we needed, but when we started construction, our expenses quickly started to escalate due to illegal building and poor HVAC. The quote quickly went from $6,000; to $30,000; to $75,000... And that was without the bakery space. Unfortunately Cake Therapy is also where most of the revenue for TCS comes from, but right now its stuck in my kitchen still because the costs to get TCS up and running were so astronomical.

I have been quoted close to $60,000 for the HVAC for the bakery and that is just not an expense that I can manage alone. More pressing even than that is the power bill we have due on May 29th. I need to come up with $1,415 to keep the lights on, and then 2 days later need to pay my rent of $3,200 and my sign rental fee of $75. My staff pay day is also May 31. It's a lot of expenses all at once, and a patron at one of the events that we held at the store this week suggested a Go Fund Me Page.

Everyone is feeling the pinch right now, and I know cost of living is so high. We are trying to be a safe space for families of neurodivergent kids. It's something that is needed in Edmonton and I know that so many of the people who attend our events and come to the studio rely on us for programming for their kids. I would hate to fall behind on these bills and not be able to manage, so I'm coming here to ask for support from the community.

If you see value in what we offer: a safe, welcoming space for kids of all neurotypes, a space that employs neurodivergent people at above minimum wage, and a local, mom-run business, I ask that you consider donating to our cause.

The first $5000 is to cover our immediate bills, and the remaining $55,000 to cover the cost of adding the bakery. I know that once the bakery is in place we will be able to generate enough revenue to be stable and thrive.

I hope you will consider us and our cause.