 
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"> 
   <channel>
      <title>Swapsity : Posts</title>
      <link>http://www.swapsity.ca/</link>
      <description>Swapsity - Recent News</description>
<lastBuildDate>Thu, 9 Apr 2026 23:44:54 GMT</lastBuildDate>
<language>en-us</language>
<generator>CakePHP</generator> 

<item>
   <title>The Swap Zone Summer Season Roundup</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/the_swap_zone_summer_season_roundup</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/the_swap_zone_summer_season_roundup</guid>
   <pubDate>Mon, Sep 22nd 2014, 13:16 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/6cdd60ea0045eb7a6ec44c54d29ed402/medium/6cdd60ea0045eb7a6ec44c54d29ed402.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[We've just come off of our best spring and summer yet. It
may not have been the sunniest or the longest but it sure was the
swappiest! We hosted four awesome swap events in four months,
creating countless opportunities for our swappers to find new
favourites, share old treasures and save their hard earned
money.

Courtesy of Ivonne Robledo Photography

High five to everyone that came out to see us! You continue to
be an integral part of the swapping movement and to our
ever-growing community. We love seeing your smiling faces peeking
over the stacks of swappables you bring to each event. Your
enthusiasm is not lost on us and the volunteers that greet you at
the Swap Zone.

Courtesy of Ivonne Robledo Photography

Courtesy of Life by Selena Photography
This year, we kicked off the season with a 3-day duo themed
swap at the Green Living Show in April. It started with a good ol'
two day media swap, followed by a day of swapping fabulous fashion accessories. Later
on, we debuted at the beautiful Harbourfront Centre in June,
followed by a Book Swap at ShareFest in July which brought
Toronto's Sharing Economy organizations together under one
roof.

Courtesy of Centre of Social Innovation
Last, but certainly not least, was our four-time return to
the always popular Live Green Toronto Festival. What a
rush!&nbsp;Lots of work was put into each event, but with the love
and appreciation we receive from you swappers it's more than worth
it.

To date, our swappers have saved $250,000 by swapping their
personal library items. That's right, a quarter of a million
dollars! It's so powerful what can be done when a community comes
together to help each other. To all the swappers that joined us
this spring and summer, veterans and rookies alike, thank you! We
were so glad to be your host.
Also, a big thank you to our terrific volunteers for
keeping the Swap Zone running smoothly and the energy up!

Courtesy of Julie Riemersma Photography
Special shout out to the totally awesome&nbsp;Life by Selena
Photography,&nbsp;Julie Riemersma Photography&nbsp;and Ivonne Robledo
Photography&nbsp;for capturing moments at the Green Living Show
and Live Green Toronto Festival. We love their pics!

Courtesy of Life by Selena Photography

Courtesy of Life by Selena Photography

Courtesy of Life by Selena Photography

Courtesy of Julie Riemersma Photography

Courtesy of Julie Riemersma Photography

Courtesy of Julie Riemersma Photography

Courtesy of Julie Riemersma Photography

Courtesy of Julie Riemersma Photography

Courtesy of Julie Riemersma Photography

Courtesy of Ivonne Robledo Photography
One of our veteran swappers, Jim, got a special surprise at
the Live Green Toronto Festival Swap Zone. That day, he had picked
up books on golf, sales, web analytics as well as Stick to your
Vision by Maestro Wes Williams.

Courtesy of Jim
Pagiamtzis
Jim remembered that Maestro Wes Williams (aka Mastro Fresh
Wes), the legendary Toronto rapper, was coincidently performing on
the main stage at the festival that day. Leaving the Swap Zone
excited, he headed to Yonge-Dundas Square in hope of catching
Maestro after his set. Lo and behold, as he was waiting by the side
entrance, the Maestro himself emerged to see Jim excitedly holding
the book he scored practically minutes earlier at the Swap Zone.
Maestro flashed a smile that stretched from Toronto to eternity,
signed the book and posed for an epic selfie with Jim.

Courtesy of Jim
Pagiamtzis
The moral of the story: you just never know what can happen
at the Swap Zone. It starts with you refreshing your media library
and ends in making new friends or meeting your idol.
Woot!


Courtesy of Life by Selena Photography
In other news, we are looking into hosting regular
Movie Swap Meets for our film-loving Toronto swappers. What
would that mean for you? Having ongoing access to a diverse
selection of movies to inspire, edify, and entertain along with the
chance of meeting fellow movie lovers. Do you dig the idea as much
as we do? Then please help us get this
idea off the ground&nbsp;and remember to be on
our&nbsp;Swap Zone mailing list. That will keep you in the loop
about future swaps.
Catch all you swappers and swapperinas out there at the
next swap meet!
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>My Journey with Business Barter</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/my_journey_with_business_barter</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/my_journey_with_business_barter</guid>
   <pubDate>Wed, Feb 12th 2014, 22:32 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/cedebb6e872f539bef8c3f919874e9d7/medium/cedebb6e872f539bef8c3f919874e9d7.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[By Patrick Bizindavyi
Watching Dragons Den, one of my favourite TV shows, I
can&rsquo;t help laughing every time Kevin O&rsquo;Leary (a.k.a Mr.
Wonderful) says that business is only about making money. I agree
that when someone starts a business, profit should be on their
mind. However, I have to disagree with Mr. Wonderful because money
isn&rsquo;t everything. I believe that, more than ever, barter is a
great way of doing business.


About a year and a half ago, I met my friend Emmanuel Lopez (a.k.a.
Motivatorman) just to catch up after my summer in Africa. Emmanuel
and I have been friends since 2005, and it&rsquo;s been a tradition
of ours to regularly touch base and talk about life. As we were
talking that day, he shared with me that he was going through one
of the toughest times in his life. From our previous conversations,
I knew things were not easy for him, but he&rsquo;s always kept a
positive attitude about everything.

I don't remember the rest of our conversation that day but we did
come to one agreement, which is I would help him through coaching
to get back on track in exchange for his help in promoting my
business through social media. Emmanuel is so talented, I knew his
expertise would come handy.

I didn't know that we were about to experience a heck of a ride
together.


My coaching was simple. We first talked about his goals and what he
wanted to accomplish in the next three months. Each Monday, he had
to e-mail me his plan for the week and on Friday we would discuss
the results he had produced that week. My role was to hold him
accountable and make sure that he did what he said he was going to
do, and offer him some support where needed. I knew that by getting
him to focus on the tasks at hand he could create a good momentum
for achieving his goals.

For an entire year we never missed a week. Along the way, Emmanuel
experienced a number of breakthroughs as well as some
disappointments, but he stayed the course. He also kept his
promise. He never stopped promoting my business, and every time he
added a service to his business, I would be the first to experience
it. That was the case with a service he calls the Sizzle Factor,
which helps people discover their hidden talents and present them
in a very professional way.

Some things started to happen. At first, it was about me helping
him by motivating and inspiring him. As every week he would tell me
inspiring stories about how things were unfolding for him, I was
looking forward to our Friday conversation just to hear what he had
to say. I found it very inspiring; now we were inspiring each
other!

In our work together, I have witnessed breakthrough after
breakthrough, watching a life transforming right before my eyes. I
have seen almost every one of Emmanuel&rsquo;s dreams coming to
fruition at a remarkable speed, like the release of the book he had
been trying for five years to finish. It&rsquo;s now available on
amazon.com. How cool is that?


I have done similar coaching work with paid clients and, as much as
I like getting paid doing what I love, I must say that my
experience with Emmanuel has been equally fulfilling. In exchange
for my coaching services, I received countless hours of consulting
in social media, business promotion, and how to write a great
professional biography. How can you put a price on that? Above all,
Emmanuel gave me the confidence that what I do matters; I can make
a real difference in people&rsquo;s lives.

I am looking forward to working with Emmanuel for many years to
come. Our future looks bright and we continue to inspire each other
week after week.


Is business really all about money? I think Mr. Wonderful got it
wrong this time.

Patrick Bizindavyi is a motivational coach and
trainer who empowers individuals to transform their ideas from a
thought to a reality. Visit his website at http://journeymanstories.blogspot.ca.
Are you a small business owner interested in bartering
on Swapsity? Connect with us.
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>TEDx Talk Makes a Swapperâ€™s Wish Come True</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/tedx_talk_makes_a_swappers_wish_come_true</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/tedx_talk_makes_a_swappers_wish_come_true</guid>
   <pubDate>Thu, Jan 30th 2014, 06:35 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/4c5bde74a8f110656874902f07378009/medium/4c5bde74a8f110656874902f07378009.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[By Marta Nowinska, Swapsity
Founder
&nbsp;
This is the story
of a scientist, a TEDx talk and a four word question that sparked a
swap surprise just in time for the holidays.

In early January, I
had lunch with my old university friend&mdash;a PhD student of
environmental sciences who has since moved to the States. While
reminiscing about the life events and stories that have unfolded in
the last 10 years, we jumped onto the topic of my
recent&nbsp;TEDx
talk&nbsp;about
the power of swapping.

&ldquo;Wonderful
talk, Marta!&rdquo; smiled Di.

I smiled back in
appreciation.

&ldquo;I felt really
inspired after watching it. I kid you not!&rdquo;

Being an
environmental researcher, Di works at a university lab. She shares
the lab with Meg&mdash;a fellow PhD student and her long-time
friend. Since losing her mom to a heart attack, being able to
reunite with her family during the holidays now means the world to
Meg. Yet, the reality of making the trip this past December looked
bleak. Meg was short of money, living paycheque-to-paycheque for
the last three years, which resulted in growing depression. With
the stress of finding money to travel from Illinois to Virginia for
the fast-approaching holidays, her life was made miserable for
weeks.


Around early
December, Di noticed my TEDx talk about swapping in her Facebook
feed. Feeling intrigued she decided to give it a
listen.

&ldquo;By the end of
the talk, I felt so inspired!&rdquo; recalled Di.

She got up from her
lab desk and walked over to Meg, feeling enthused by what she has
heard.

Just then, a fellow
lab mate named Mark walked in. Mark had also experienced the
strains of living paycheque-to-paycheque while caring for his
disabled mother.

Meg lamented to Mark
about how badly she wanted to go home for Christmas but had no
money.

Feeling all fired up
by the talk, Di uttered the four words that quickly shifted the
entire conversation: &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you
swap?&rdquo;

Mark and Meg both
gave Di a bewildered look.

&ldquo;Meg, you want
to go home for Christmas, right? There&rsquo;s something of value
you must have to give to Mark. And Mark, you must have something
that can help Meg. There&rsquo;s got to be something you both
have,&rdquo; explained Di.

Meg thought for a
second.

&ldquo;Mark, you have
been trying to finish your [scientific] manuscript for a month,
right? Why don&rsquo;t I sit down with you and help you edit it
over the next two days?

Meg happens to excel
at writing scientific publications, while Mark is a terrible
writer. So much so that most people cringe when they read his
papers. It&rsquo;s a miracle he was admitted for a
PhD.

&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a
great idea,&rdquo; replied Mark. &ldquo;I need to finish that
paper!&rdquo;

Feeling grateful for
the help, Mark enthusiastically reciprocated.

&ldquo;You know what
Meg, I won&rsquo;t be using my car over the holidays, why
don&rsquo;t you borrow it and drive it to
Virginia?&rdquo;

Meg&rsquo;s face
turned into a look of wide-eyed shock.

&ldquo;Really?&rdquo;
muttered Meg.

Slowly the
astonishment dissolved and Meg&rsquo;s face lit
up.

&ldquo;Oh my
goodness! But wait...wait.&rdquo; Meg uttered. &ldquo;Editing your
manuscript will not be enough of a swap. How about I also pay for
your car&rsquo;s oil change to make the swap
equivalent?&rdquo;

&ldquo;Fantastic!&rdquo; grinned
Mark.

For the next few
days, Meg looked radiant; the stress has been taken off her
back.

&ldquo;I have not
seen her that content for a long time,&rdquo; said
Di.

&ldquo;It was such a
miracle. I felt so empowered having been able to facilitate this
exchange. I care for Meg and it meant so much for
me".

&ldquo;It was
amazing, on all fronts. Meg got to go home to her family, and Mark
got something out of it, and so did I.&rdquo;


As I listened to her
tell the story and saw her eyes come alive, I couldn&rsquo;t help
but feel astounded and thrilled because of how everything fell into
place, just in time for the holidays. Intrigued, I asked her a few
questions to piece together the entire story.

It turned out that
Mark had known of Meg&rsquo;s woes but would have never thought of
swapping the use of his car until Meg offered to help him with his
manuscript.

Meg, on the other
hand, was very fixated on the cash element. She needed $500 and saw
is as the only way to solve her problem.

&ldquo;Meg wanted
cash so badly. Why should cash be the only solution? There&rsquo;s
another way, just like you said in your talk, Marta,&rdquo; said
Di. &ldquo;We think we have so little.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Yet we have so
much. We&rsquo;re a lot wealthier than we realize,&rdquo; I
continued.

&ldquo;Right! At that
time, I had no idea what Mark had to offer. Yet, I thought I would
suggest a swap. I am enthusiastic how successfully it
went.&rdquo;

&ldquo;So how was
Meg&rsquo;s Christmas?&rdquo; I asked.

&ldquo;It was one of
the best Christmases she has had with her family since her mom
passed away. It was a very significant trip for Meg and when she
came back, I could see she had her life back together. Lo and
behold, it worked like a charm,&rdquo; said Di.


That evening, I
called up Di to thank her for the lovely time together and for
sharing her remarkable story over lunch.

&ldquo;Have you ever
swapped before?&rdquo; I inquired.

&ldquo;Come to think
of it Marta, I have! I just never thought of it as a swap though.
But now I know what you mean. It&rsquo;s really difficult and
time-consuming for me to change tubing on my lab machine on my own.
For Mark however, it&rsquo;s a piece of cake. He has done it for me
a couple of times. Whenever he helps me out, I take him out for
beers. That&rsquo;s how we swap.&rdquo;

I smiled silently.
Swapping is such an innate thing. We have all done it, we just have
to remind ourselves to utilize it in our daily life, especially
when we are short of money.

&ldquo;If three jaded
&lsquo;middle aged&rsquo; scientists can swap, anyone can,&rdquo;
concluded Di facetiously.

I couldn&rsquo;t help
but chuckle.

The next time you run
into someone needing help, try asking &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you
swap?&rdquo; and tell me how that story unfolds.


This is a true story however the names
have been changed at Di&rsquo;s request.
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>Barter Tip #8: Put Barter in your Wallet in 2014</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/barter_tip_8_put_barter_in_your_wallet_in_2014</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/barter_tip_8_put_barter_in_your_wallet_in_2014</guid>
   <pubDate>Sun, Jan 5th 2014, 21:25 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/fc221309746013ac554571fbd180e1c8/medium/fc221309746013ac554571fbd180e1c8.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[So how are you doing with your New
Year's resolutions so far? Why not make a fun and practical change
this year and add a new
currency to your wallet: barter.
Did
you know that if every Canadian bartered for 5% of their budget we would collectively save $52.5
billion dollars? Not to mention how it would expand our social
circles and reduce waste in our landfills.

So here's our 2014 challenge to
you: try swapping for at least ONE item, skill or
service per month and see how it keeps your wallet full.

Watch our TEDx
talk if you want to learn more about the world of barter. And
print out a copy of our barter card for your wallet to track your
monthly swaps.

What will you swap for in
January?
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>Best Swapsity Moments of 2013</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/best_swapsity_moments_of_2013</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/best_swapsity_moments_of_2013</guid>
   <pubDate>Fri, Dec 27th 2013, 07:07 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/045117b0e0a11a242b9765e79cbf113f/medium/045117b0e0a11a242b9765e79cbf113f.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[It&rsquo;s been an amazing year
for us! It&rsquo;s delightful to see the public and press recognize
the value of barter and we&rsquo;re pumped to see Swapsity benefit
more people in the year to come. As 2013 draws to a close, we look
back at the top five highlights of the year.

Swap Stories
We love hearing success stories from our swappers! From the fun to
the practical, we have seen all kinds of swaps happen through
Swapsity this year.


To share just a few
examples:

private chef services for yoga
lessons (yum!)
a chandelier for handmade
gemstone bracelets
Indian cooking for
photography&mdash;this swap turned into a big dinner for five
people!
home painting for tax
preparations
a new Brita water filter for
home-made jam
bi-weekly massages for
employees&mdash;as a health benefit&mdash;in exchange for bi-weekly
office cleaning
business consulting for
acupuncture




Swaps come in all shapes and sizes
but no matter how big or small they are about two people positively
impacting each other&rsquo;s lives.
Swapsity talks at
TEDx
This year we had the opportunity to
take the simple idea of barter to the TEDx stage. Our
founder&rsquo;s talk, The Exchange Economy: Value with Values,
focused on the power of barter and presented her vision for the
future of currency. Get the full talk and story here.


Brand New Logo and
Website
We also unveiled our brand new logo&mdash;it better captures the spirit of
our brand&rsquo;s personality and vision&mdash;and a fresh new website. The new
site makes swapping more effortless, has a clean interface and
makes the online experience more intuitive.



Media Kudos
Barter is growing in popularity in Toronto and the Canadian media
is certainly taking notice.

Since its inception, Swapsity has been covered in
the media many times, however this year we got to see one of
the most in-depth feature article from a financial perspective on
the rise of barter. Toronto Life&rsquo;s Money Issue featured a
major story, &ldquo;No Money, No Problem&rdquo;, which included
three pages of facts and successes stories about the New Bartering
Economy in Toronto. In it, they asserted that we're on the "cusp of
a new wave of alternative financial thinking." According to Toronto
Life, the Barter Economy is driven by the "uncertainties of a cash
economy," and many local success stories&mdash;like
Swapsity&mdash;have emerged. Read it here.


Global News also covered our summer&rsquo;s
biggest swap, CBC did a radio interview with our founder in
their &ldquo;Big Idea&rdquo; segment, and Canadian Press wrote a story&mdash;republished
by Yahoo, MSN Money, Huffington and other publications&mdash;on
post holiday swapping season.

It&rsquo;s exciting for us to see
swapping empowering more and more Canadians!

Swap Zone
Success
Have you had a chance to attend one of our swap events? It&rsquo;s
been two and half years since we started organizing Toronto&rsquo;s
largest swap meets. Every time we host these treasure-hunting
meets, the Swap Zone comes alive with hundreds of swappers beaming
with smiles and thousands of items that need new homes. This year
we had so much fun swapping at the Green Living Show and the 
Live Green Toronto Festival. Thanks for joining us!



And the impact of our swaps so
far? To date, our wonderful swappers have amassed more than
$200,000 in savings, recycled 30,000+ items and swapped over 25,000
things at the Swap Zone. Great job, folks! You can read more about
the Swap Zone success in an article written by our
founder for Collaborative Consumption.


A big thank you for our Swap Zone
volunteers who make our events possible and our swappers for
keeping the swapping spirit alive. We love you!


What were some of your best swap experiences in 2013? What do you
hope to see happen in 2014?

Wishing you fantastic bartering in 2014!
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>Swapsity TEDx Talk</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/swapsity_tedx_talk</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/swapsity_tedx_talk</guid>
   <pubDate>Mon, Dec 16th 2013, 19:45 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/8f53295a73878494e9bc8dd6c3c7104f/medium/8f53295a73878494e9bc8dd6c3c7104f.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[We
love TED talks.
They inspire, inform and spark insights. So, you can imagine our
delight when our founder, Marta Nowinska, was chosen to present at
TEDx, a TED-style event in Toronto to celebrate locally-driven
ideas and elevating them to the global stage.

Toronto born Swapsity was right at home within the theme
TEDWomen 2013: Invented Here, and very much in line with
the question that inspired the conference: how are women reshaping
the future?

Marta&rsquo;s talk, The Exchange Economy: Value with
Values, focused on the power of barter and presented her
vision for the future of currency. She shared stories, statistics
and inspired the audience to embrace barter in their daily life. As
kids, we knew how to get things without money or credit
cards&mdash;we simply swapped for it! We can all remember how fun
it was. Today, while barter is widely utilized by countries and
corporations, less than 1% of individuals barter. Why are most of
us missing out? Why are kids, corporations and government having
all the fun? Watch Marta's TEDx talk to find out.

The talk generated plenty of
excitement in the Tweetosphere with the audience sharing the
highlights and tweeting their enthusiasm about swapping.


We felt extremely humbled and
honoured to be a part of TEDWomen
2013, a global conversation happening in 58 countries across
the planet from the 4th to the 6th of December.


TEDWomen celebrates the incredible work of innovative women, change
agents, thinkers, leaders, problem-solvers, inventors,
trailblazers, idea champions and dreamers who are transforming
entire industries with their out-of-the-box thinking. TEDxTheAnnexWomen took place at the University of
Toronto (Munk School of Global Affairs) on December 5th and brought
together seven outstanding speakers. Read how these innovators look
at success in this Chatelaine Magazine feature.



So glad to share our insights and
spark a conversation about the value of the Exchange Economy. We
hope you'll share
Marta&rsquo;s TEDx talk with your friends and empower more
people to put barter in their wallet.

Photography credit: Bettina Bogar
Photography and Swapsity swapper.
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>Barter Tip #7: Put the "You" in your Swap Currency</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/barter_tip_7_put_the_you_in_your_swap_currency</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/barter_tip_7_put_the_you_in_your_swap_currency</guid>
   <pubDate>Wed, Oct 23rd 2013, 19:31 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/8f85517967795eeef66c225f7883bdcb/medium/8f85517967795eeef66c225f7883bdcb.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[

Your swap currency is totally unique, so swap what you love! Share
your distinct blend of strengths, talents, passions, hobbies and
superpowers with your fellow swappers to "pay" for what you need.
Whether you have a divine tiramisu recipe to make for others, your
own line of organic soaps, or you're giving hay rides on your
tractor, your barter currency is full of you-ness.
When you swap the things you love &mdash;and receive the same from
fellow swappers&mdash;it celebrates individuality and adds a spark
of humanity to your transactions.

What's your currency
made of?
&nbsp;
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>Introducing...Our New Logo!</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/introducingour_new_logo</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/introducingour_new_logo</guid>
   <pubDate>Mon, Aug 19th 2013, 13:37 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/96da2f590cd7246bbde0051047b0d6f7/medium/96da2f590cd7246bbde0051047b0d6f7.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[Ta-da! We couldn&rsquo;t be more
excited to introduce you to our fresh new Swapsity logo.
On July 26th we said goodbye to
the old logo that served us since our first launch, and hello to a
brand new one that debuted at the Live Green Toronto Festival swap meet.
We commissioned a
talented Montreal-based designer to create it and she really poured
her heart and soul into capturing the essence of our swapping
community in a single graphic. The new logo embodies our friendly
and fun personality along with everything we love about modern
barter: greenness, sharing and connecting people.



What Swapsity
means...
Want the scoop on what
Swapsity really
means? The name itself is assembled from all the 'swaps' our
members do, combined with the suffix '-ity'. Just as the words
amiability or frugality describe the state of
being amiable or frugal, our name swapsity expresses the
trait that our swappers possess. If you looked us up in the
dictionary, you would see something like this:
Swapsity
adjective [sw&#594;ps&#618;'ti]
Swapsity is characterized by the state or quality of sustaining the
propensity to make smart swaps, bartering with gusto and swapping
to the heart&rsquo;s content.
&nbsp;
Sentence
usage:
Everyone at the Swap Zone was full of
swapsity.
&nbsp;
Origin:
Canadian. Invented to ignite
bartering. First known use, 2008.

&nbsp;
Logo
Explained...

Centrepiece: The
centrepiece of our new logo is a big S, which naturally
imitates the flow of the give-and-take action of swapping. The
designer leveraged the &ldquo;inherent quality of the form of the
letter S in the logo, receiving from the bottom left and
giving from the top right&rdquo; to visually depict a swap
transaction. The big S is also our new icon.

Letters: The letters
represent a community of swappers. The font for Swapsity was custom
designed with the idea of a playful, yet contemporary, look. The
letters themselves are swapping, passing things between themselves
and reaching out to help one another. If you look closely you may
even notice that the green letter hands resemble the arms of our
mascot, Swaptopus!

Colours: Colour-wise, the
light green hints at the rebirth or revival of barter and the
reinvention of modern transactions. Dark green reminds us that
swapping plays a role in the recycling and redistributing items in
order to help the environment.

We dig our new logo! What do you
think? What do you see?
&nbsp;
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>Torontoâ€™s Biggest Swap Rocks Downtown Core</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/torontos_biggest_swap_rocks_downtown_core</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/torontos_biggest_swap_rocks_downtown_core</guid>
   <pubDate>Wed, Aug 7th 2013, 21:41 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/38af86134b65d0f10fe33d30dd76442e/medium/38af86134b65d0f10fe33d30dd76442e.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[Yowza!&nbsp;It was a phenomenal day full of swapping,
collaboration, enthusiasm, treasure hunting and Swaptopus
hugging&nbsp;at last Saturday&rsquo;s Swap Zone. We were busy from
the get go!


Veteran swappers were eagerly standing near our booth with their
goodies way before the festival officially started. Once we opened,
familiar faces and new ones hunted through six tents filled with an
abundance of CDs, DVDs, books and vinyl, until they found the gems
that had them smiling all the way home. We just never get over the
sight of swappers leaving the Swap Zone with arms heavy and faces
beaming from the "new" favourites they found.&nbsp;


As always, the number of swaps and savings were record breaking.
Swappers brought 9,221 items, saving more than
$50,000. We donated 1,044lbs of leftovers to Goodwill, diverting
even the unswapped items from the landfill. Those numbers never
fail to impress us. Simply incredible!
The Swap Zone had a family-friendly section, so the kids could
participate in recycling too.&nbsp;We spotted one family with three
children itching with anticipation to enter the tent and hunt for
some new entertainment treasures.&nbsp;So cool that these parents
are introducing their kids to the art of barter.&nbsp;

It was an extra special day for us because the July 27th swap
coincided with the re-launch of the new Swapsity website
and unveiling of our new logo!
"This idea is better than eBay!" commented one of the visitors
who stopped by to chat with us.

"I love that moment when people&rsquo;s faces light up when they
get the concept, they are like 'Oh yeah,' because it&rsquo;s SO
empowering! Even if you&rsquo;re working a lousy job, you still
have skills and stuff in your house that you can swap." said Meka,
a veteran volunteer, as Global News interviewed her about the Swap
Zone. Watch Meka&rsquo;s and other Swap Zone reactions here.


&nbsp;
The media was quick to point cameras our way to capture all the
action, while TV stations, bloggers and other journalists stopped
by to interview us and our cheerful visitors.

In the spirit of collaborative consumption, one of the swappers
generously donated 700 CDs from his personal collection
enthusiastically commenting, "Yay! Less clutter for me, and lots of
music for other people!"

Not even the buckets of rain that caught festival visitors later
in the afternoon could stop people from coming through the Swap
Zone. One volunteer remembers checking in over 70 items for one
couple who came despite the rain. Keeping fifty swappers and
thousands of books in the six tents as dry as possible was a real
bonding experience. It certainly made for a memorable event! One of
our volunteers, Benjamin, was impressed with how everyone in the
tents collaborated to solve rain issues. "The volunteers, as well
as many of the attendees, helped with tarps, flinging puddles of
rainwater from leaky tarps, and covering books. It was nice to see
everyone helping out." What a great community spirit!


And speaking of our volunteers, we can&rsquo;t sing their
praises enough. Legendary as they always are, they kept the crowd
positive and energized even through the heaviest downpours of the
day.

"The most common thing I heard from swappers was how happy they
were to get so much new stuff," comments Maresah, another
volunteer. "One swapper in particular came back four times, and
every time he checked out he would say 'Thank you! This is great!'
and 'Look how much stuff I got!' His contentment was truly
phenomenal to see and made the experience all the more wonderful
for me as a volunteer."

Laura, a fellow volunteer, concurs: "I think the best reactions
are from the people who are hearing about Swapsity for the first
time. I talked to one lady who was so excited, she said she was
going to go home to start swapping [online] all her nice clothes
that no longer fit her. Everyone always goes away smiling after
they hear about how Swapsity works."

As the popularity of the Swap Zone exceeded our expectations and
allocated space, we ended up rearranging the Swap Zone to
accommodate the influx of swappables and visitors. Anything to help
our swappers out!

Swappers also tweeted us with pictures of their stacks of new
treasures, and you know we love to see that. Tamarah, who is a
familiar face at the Swap Zone, found a ton of awesome CDs,
including&nbsp;No Doubt,&nbsp;Our Lady
Peace&nbsp;and&nbsp;Oasis. Tim, on the other hand,
stocked up on books, like the classic To Kill a
Mockingbird&nbsp;and the more recent hit,&nbsp;The Kite
Runner.&nbsp;Another swapper brought 150+ items and happily
left with the same!
&nbsp;



A huge thank you to all the wonderful swappers who came by! You
had us stoked from the moment we opened up the tents that morning.
Thank you as well to the volunteers
whose energy, commitment and time makes the Swap Zone a roaring
success every single time. You rock!&nbsp;Special thanks to the
swap-savvy Bettina Bogar Photography for beautifully capturing
swap moments at the Swap Zone and Dyann Jackson who bartered with
us for videography. And thank you to the Live
Green Toronto Festival organizers who have worked with us for
the last three years to make the Swap Zone possible for all of you.
Your event is a highlight of the year for us!

Did you miss out this time? Stay in the know by signing up for
the Swap
Zone mailing list and you'll never miss out again.&nbsp;
Until next time, we hope to catch you&nbsp;swapping online!

&nbsp;
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
   <title>The House Hunt is Officially Over</title>
   <link>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/the_house_hunt_is_officially_over</link>
   <guid>http://www.swapsity.ca//posts/view/the_house_hunt_is_officially_over</guid>
   <pubDate>Wed, Jun 26th 2013, 17:32 PST</pubDate>

      <media:thumbnail url="http://www.swapsity.ca/img/posts/82161242827b703e6acf9c726942a1e4/medium/82161242827b703e6acf9c726942a1e4.jpg"/>
   
   <description><![CDATA[Swapping Adventures Part 4
by Emmanuel Lopez
&nbsp;
This is a
big THANK YOU to every single person that helped and supported my
quest for a new home. Despite the tight budget and deadline, I am
happy to say I found a peaceful new apartment with a fantastic view
and a caring landlord.

During this adventure, I really came to appreciate the 
power of community and how willing people are to aid others
experiencing 
financial crisis and isolation. I experienced the magic of
Swapsity members when they were quick to provide apartment leads
and encouragement after reading my blog post. Some even used
Facebook to share the post on their own walls!

I also received personal messages of gratitude because they found
my apartment quest inspirational. Those who were also going through
difficult times said my story helped them to stay positive,
persevere and ask for the help they need. In the end, my apartment
search was all about inspiring others who find themselves in the
same boat. My message to anyone feeling stuck in a crisis is this:
Identify what you need, Find the
courage to ask for help, and Believe in the power
of community. Remember, you are not alone. There are good-hearted
people waiting to help you in your time of need!
&nbsp;
Emmanuel Lopez
a.k.a.
Motivatorman is a social media consultant, speaker and an
award-winning illustrator and movie
blogger. He helps people identify and communicate their greatness!
The New York Times and The Washington Post have featured Emmanuel's
blog called, Movies That Motivate. Emmanuel has also owned a
successful illustration business, written a column for Zoomer
Magazine and provided motivational
talks for: TD Canada Trust, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Ministry
of Finance, Lululemon Athletica, Schulich
School of Business and The Art
Institute of Boston. You can 
connect with Emmanuel on Swapsity.

]]></description>
</item>
   </channel>
</rss>
