Studio Locale’s Robin Mondor Discusses the ‘Open’ Program on the Mike Farwell Show

Robin joined Mike on the Mike Farwell Show to discuss our “open” program, which offers local nonprofits a week of pro bono design, marketing, and development support. We’re thankful for the chance to highlight our commitment to giving back and helping organizations overcome challenges. Thanks, Mike, for the opportunity!

M: In studio guests are some of my favourite guests, and somebody that I have communicated with many times over the years is finally in studio sitting across from me, Robin Mondor, the owner at Studio Locale. Good morning. Thanks for being here. 

R: Thanks for having us, Mike. 

M: Tell us a little more about Studio Locale and what you do there.

R: Yeah. For sure. So we are a branding and marketing agency here in Kitchener Waterloo, and we focus on helping our clients kind of hone in on their messaging and communications and brand to kinda get them to the next level. So that’s really our passion and that’s what we do. We have a wide range of different clients that span all sorts of different industries and different points in their timeline and where they are with their business. So we just kinda jump in and help them. 

M: Yeah. And that help that you do has been so successful and so highly regarded. That’s how our paths have kind of crossed electronically Yep. Over the years.

M: But what I love about the purposes of today’s conversation, Robin, is your emphasis on giving back as well, helping out nonprofits that may need some support in that space. 

R: Yeah, it’s a tricky time for sure for nonprofits, and I know a lot of them are kinda feeling the pinch from provincial and federal funding or potentially philanthropic funding, and everyone else is feeling the pinch. So, we have a program called Open, and we’ve had it informally for a number of years. We’ve always given back to our community through different projects and different groups that have reached out, but this has kind of formalized it over the last few years.

So we’re excited to do that. We dedicate an entire week and give a full week of design, marketing, and development time to a not for profit who’s looking for some extra support. 

M: And what a happy coincidence that the organizations that you were able to support last year are two that are very near and dear to my heart, the, Gault Curling Club in Ayr. 

R: In Ayr. Yes.

M: Right? Or the Ayr Curling Club. Yes. Yeah. And I I say that because buddies of mine that I played ball with in the summer started curling in the winter, and that’s where they curl on Broom Street in Ayr. And I could never join because I’m too busy with my hockey season, but they have thoroughly enjoyed it. And then ink stained wretches and my buddy, Mirko, and the hard work that they do. But how were you able to support the air curling club and ink stained wretches? 

R: Well, with Ayr Curling, so they wanted to kinda become more of an inclusive group, and so they wanted to drop the name or the the term club from their name. So they’re simply now Ayr Curling and wanted to refresh their identity to reflect that. So they had an older, very traditional looking logo and wanting to have with the name change, have something that visually made it feel like it was more open and accessible to everyone in the community. 

M: So why is it important to you, Robin, as a business owner to give back in this way? 

R: I think everyone’s kind of looking for an opportunity to give back. And I think for ourselves, because our focus is on marketing and communications and helping make connections with, our clients’ target audiences, not for profits are looking for help in that making that connection. And so it was really it felt like something that was kind of a no brainer to make that connection with our with our not for profits in the community to help them connect. Where are they struggling? Is it are they struggling to reach, from a fundraising perspective? Is it, you know, connecting with theirs their community and who they’re looking to support? So it just kinda felt like a natural fit. 

M: So I’m sure there is an application process that goes along with this because as much as you would love to, you can’t do it for everybody. How can a local not for profit apply for open? 

R: Yes. So we have a web page on our website, studiolocale.com/open. And on there, there’s an application form. Because it is just for one week, we run it really, really quickly. It’s almost like a sprint to folks who are familiar with that term. So we’re starting typically on a Monday and wrapping up on a Friday. So we ask the not for profits to kinda be a little bit prepared for that week and come in so that we can hit the ground running. So we wanna know as much as we can about what you’re looking to do, where your challenges are, where there’s an opportunity for us to potentially help. And then that way, when we start off the project, we’ve got everything that we need, and we can really start getting into the details of it versus trying to understand more.

M: Are there any parameters around the organizations that are eligible to apply? 

R: So what we say is we like to focus on organizations that support youth, equality, and social responsibility. But I think if you think about it, that’s almost every sort of not for profit. So there’s a lot of flexibility in terms of who we’re looking or who we could potentially help. It’s really how folks are sharing their information with us that helps our team decide who we’re gonna work with.

M: And once those applications start coming in, Robin, are you able to work out a mutually convenient time for the organization to let you in the doors for that sprint that given week? Or do 

R: yeah. We try to do it typically in June. Okay. We find that if we wait a little bit later, we start getting into people being on vacation and away for the summer. And then in the fall, a lot of not for profits are ramping up into their end of year fundraising activities. So that time frame seems to work for most folks. Obviously, again, we’re flexible. So if it really is gonna be a pinch, we can talk about different time frames. But for the most part, that seems to work before people head off for the summer.

M: Alright. I wanna point folks in the direction of studiolocale.com/open. That’s where you’ll learn more about the program. You can fill out the twenty twenty five application form because I’m looking at it right now. Easy to find. And, one of our local nonprofits can get some support from Studio Locale in that week long sprint. Thanks for the work that you do, Robin, and thanks very much for being with us on the show today. 

R: Thanks for having me, Mike. We really appreciate it. 

M: Robin Mondor, the owner at Studio Locale. Again, check out studiolocale.com/open.