Glasslake Funding launches a new commercial mortgage campaign focused on the mortgage behind the spaces — where culture, community, and everyday life actually happen.
Shaping How We Live
Every day, we move through spaces that quietly shape how we live.
The café that starts our mornings. The gym that anchors our routines. The studio where ideas take form. The neighbourhood businesses that become familiar through habit and trust.
These spaces are more than physical locations. They influence how we spend our time, how we connect with others, and how our communities come together. Over time, they become places people rely on, return to, and build their lives around.
They are where business becomes personal.
Behind every one of them is a business owner with a vision and a plan. Someone who committed to a location, invested in an idea, and took on the responsibility that comes with creating a space meant for others. And supporting that decision is a broker who understands the vision from every angle, and the right lending partner behind them.
At Glasslake Funding, this is where commercial lending begins. Not with rates or structures, but with the understanding that mortgages are the foundation beneath the spaces that shape life.
A Campaign Shaped by the Entrepreneurs, Guided by Brokers
This belief is the foundation of Glasslake Funding’s new commercial mortgages campaign, Funding Spaces That Shape Life.
As the company continues to expand its impact across the commercial lending landscape, there is a clearer understanding of the role Glasslake plays behind the scenes of the spaces people experience every day.
Commercial mortgages are often framed in technical terms and treated as complex and transactional. Conversations dial into ratios, cash flows, and who has the best rates —but that’s not the whole decision. Behind those metrics is something much more personal. Every deal represents a livelihood, a long term commitment, and a belief that a physical space can support a business, a community, and a future.
Funding Spaces That Shape Life was created to pull commercial lending beyond the transactional mindset.
For every space people interact with, there is a mortgage behind it. A mortgage that made it possible. Glasslake is anchored in enabling entrepreneurs and investors as they build spaces people rely on and build their lives around.
A Visual Language Shaped by the Emotional Connection Spaces and Properties Represent
The brand behind the lender matters to brokers and clients. It shapes how clearly brokers can communicate options and how confidently they can stand behind their recommendations.
That belief sits at the core of Funding Spaces That Shape Life. If this campaign is about the mortgage behind the spaces people rely on, then the creative couldn’t start with finance alone. It had to start with the spaces themselves, and the culture that forms inside them.
The visual and creative direction for the campaign was led by Cole Bannister, Art Director at Glasslake Funding, who approached the work by looking outward to everyday environments as a source of inspiration.
“I often get inspired by things I’m doing in my own personal life, and I make connections between that and what’s happening at work. Everything is related,” says Bannister.
Influenced by interior design, nostalgic aesthetic movements, and the textures and palettes shaping modern culture, Cole approached the campaign as an extension of the environments it celebrates. The result is a visual identity that feels ownable. One that mirrors the spaces Glasslake helps bring to life.
Real spaces throughout Toronto, Ontario that helped shape the campaign’s vision.
A nostalgic lens guiding the look and feel of the campaign.
Sketches developed by Cole Bannister, Art Director, while mapping out the campaign’s visual identity.
This creative direction also reflects a broader evolution of the Glasslake brand itself.
“We’re entering the next phase of growth at Glasslake. One that is more intentional and refined. As we rapidly surpassed $1 billion in originations in less than three years, it has become important to pause and reflect on where we are today; and where we want to focus as a business moving forward.
This campaign is about honouring our evolution through the way we show up, both in our messaging and in our visual identity.” — Ruvani Henriques, Vice President, Marketing and Strategy, Glasslake Funding
From hero imagery to campaign lines like “Funding spaces that shape life,” “The mortgage behind your morning coffee,” and “Before it was Maria’s autoshop, it was just four walls”,” the creative brings commercial lending back to its most tangible outcome, representing how people live and interact with the spaces in their lives.
That same thinking shaped who this campaign was really designed for.
“As a business, we understand that brokers are consumers too, so we wanted to launch a campaign that spoke directly to them and acknowledged the emotion behind the work they do” — Emily Grossi, Senior Marketing Manager
Commercial Lending Starts with the Space
For years, commercial lending has been defined by structure, analysis, and numbers. And while these factors will always matter, they don’t tell the whole story. When you start with the basics, understanding the client and the property—the perceived complexity fades, bringing commercial mortgages closer to the simplicity of residential lending.
Every funded commercial mortgage represents someone’s livelihood. A business owner backing themselves or an investor purchasing a new building to generate an additional income stream. Years of planning, risk, and personal investment.
These are not abstract transactions. They are human decisions. And we believe they deserve to be treated that way.
“When you strip it down, commercial mortgages are about people building something real. Our job is to understand that impact from a financial perspective – and bring structure and clarity to that process, without losing sight of what’s actually at stake for the clients we work with.”— Mike Forshee, President of Glasslake Funding
Funding Spaces That Shape Life exists to acknowledge that truth. It reflects a brand belief that strong lending starts with understanding the space, the vision behind it, and the broker guiding that story forward. Glasslake supports that work as the unseen infrastructure that allows culture, connection, and community to exist in the physical world.
A More Intentional Era for Glasslake
This campaign marks an important moment in Glasslake Funding’s evolution.
It reflects a business that has become more deliberate in its growth, expanding in scale and ambition while staying true to the entrepreneurial mindset that built it.
“Our growth has been exponential, yet it feels like the start of something much bigger,” says Mike Forshee, President of Glasslake Funding. “Looking toward 2026, our goals are bold, and our team is driven by the challenge, and the opportunity to create something that moves the industry forward.”
As Glasslake enters this next chapter, its focus remains clear. Supporting brokers as they guide business owners through complex decisions, and providing the lending partnership that helps bring those spaces to life.
Because Glasslake doesn’t just fund mortgages.
We fund the spaces that shape life. And we’re clear about the role we take in bringing them to life.
The Narratives Behind the Spaces
This campaign is built on true deals and spaces funded by Glasslake. We are inviting broker partners to collaborate with us on highlighting the stories behind those spaces.
