Like many people, Greenbriar founders Mat + Shawn found themselves with unexpected time to think when the world shut down in 2020. With nowhere to go and routines suddenly gone, the question became simple but heavy: what actually matters?

Shawn comes from a family of small business owners and had spent his entire career in retail — the people, the pace, the problem-solving. But something was missing. Like so many others, he wanted his work to feel meaningful, not just productive.

Years earlier, Mat + Shawn had already begun rethinking what they consumed — starting with food, then turning their attention to what they were putting in and on their bodies. What they found was frustrating: shopping sustainably felt complicated, overwhelming, and often full of empty claims. The good options existed — they were just scattered and hard to trust.

So they decided to build the kind of place they wished existed.

Greenbriar Market + Refillery launched online in 2021, grounded in a simple idea: make better choices easier. Every product was carefully vetted, tested (on founders, not fur babies), and chosen for quality, function, and real-world use — not trends or buzzwords.

By the end of that year, Greenbriar took its next step and opened a physical market and refillery in northwest Calgary. The goal was never perfection — it was to create a space that felt thoughtful, welcoming, and practical. A place where people could shop with confidence, ask questions, and feel good about what they were choosing.

Today, Greenbriar continues online and at Crossroads Market, with a full-service refill bar and a growing collection of in-house brands. What hasn’t changed is the approach: curated with care, built for real life, and guided by the belief that small, consistent choices can add up to something better.

No guilt. No pressure.
Just better options, made easier.

— Shawn + Mat