25 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,F ebruary 4,2021 insidehalton.com 25+ Years Experience 100% Canadian Made Cabinetry Quality Craftsmanship • Custom Made Kitchen & Bathroom Cabinetry • Closet Systems • Entertainment Units • Basement Renovations • Full Renovations & More! Visit Our 6,000 sq.ft. Design Centre: Units 2-3, 333 Wyecroft Rd.,Oakville 905.844.3332 | www.aromakitchens.ca • info@aromakitchens.ca Create Your Dream Look NICE TO MEET YOU Certified tea sommelier TracieMichaud pours out her passion for tea through her luxury tea company in Oakville, where she was born and raised. Specializing in great tasting tea and unique experiences, Tea with Tracie offers exceptional quality tea that is fresh, delicious and all-natural. The 100 per cent plant based sachets are biodegradable and compostable so tea drinkers can enjoy whole leaf tea in the convenience of a plastic free tea bag. "I launched Tea with Tracie in May 2018, after spending almost 30 years in the corporate world. I wanted to finally pursue my dream of starting my own tea company so I could create and build something I was truly passionate about. Tea has always been my liquid therapy, and a calming break throughout my busy day. A cup of tea has 66 per cent less caffeine than coffee, and you get a longer lasting feeling of calm alertness without the jitters," explains the tea expert. Tea with Tracie offers online shopping with free delivery within 48 hours to Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga, Milton and Georgetown. Tracie can provide personalized service to help choose your perfect tea, and the collection is beautifully packaged for gift-giving. "We also offer an "Afternoon Tea To-Go!" luncheon box, which includes everything for a lovely tea luncheon in the comfort of your ownhome," saysMichaud. Booming tea sales are an indication that people crave the warmth and comfort of a great cup of tea during these crazy times, she observes. "The community has really rallied together to support shopping local, which has been incredible for small family businesses like ours," Michaud says. "I absolutely love having the ability to share my tea as a way to give back and support the many causes near and dear to our heart," she explains. Along with offering a local fundraising program for schools, teams and groups, Tracie's "Think Pink" fundraiser donates $5 from every purchase to Wellspring Oakville's cancer support program. Luxury local tea shop Tracie Michaud owner Online Tea Shop 416-986-7076 www.teawithtracie.ca online ordering free local delivery -- ADVERTORIAL -- An Oakville woman is striving to teach Black chil- dren about their culture and history through the eyes of relatable charac- ters. Ekiuwa Aire released her first book, "Idia of the Benin Kingdom," in Decem- ber and says she's received quite a positive response so far to her debut publication. "The book is an imag- ined story about a real Afri- can queen who lived 500 years ago," she explained. "The goal is to introduce Af- rican history to kids in a way that's engaging, using some of the real life experi- ences that children cur- rently face." The story follows Idia, who first saw her future in a dream and then works hard to become one of the most successful queens in the Af- rican kingdom of Benin. The mother of two was motivated to start writing after finding it difficult to locate books for her girls that depict Black charac- ters and African heroes. Now, Aire said she's hop- ing her book will inspire a generation of Black chil- dren to reach their full po- tential, regardless of the challenges they may face. "I hope this is the first of many books that I'll be able to proudly read to my chil- dren," she said. "It's great to have their eyes on my work before I send it out to beta readers and professional editors." The Nigerian-Canadian has definitely caught the writing bug, with her sec- ond children's book on Afri- can history poised to come out in March, along with a third publication already in the works. She's also been putting together lesson plans in re- cent weeks so that teachers can use "Idia of the Benin Kingdom" as a learning tool. For further details on Aire's work visit our-ances- tories.com. LOCAL WOMAN SHARES AFRICAN HISTORY WITH CHILDREN'S BOOK MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com WHAT'S ON AN OAKVILLE WOMAN IS STRIVING TO TEACH BLACK CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR CULTURE AND HISTORY THROUGH THE EYES OF RELATABLE CHARACTERS