Shop Local 1.0
At the end of November there is a day called Shop Local Saturday. It's a great reminder to spend at and support local businesses. Here, in Edmonton, we have seen an increase in unique local businesses over the past few years and not only are they creative and needed in the community, but many are owned and run by fellow women and moms. These ladies not only deserve success and support, but some sort of medal for balancing it all! And I feel so very lucky to call many of them personal friends! So I have decided to feature some of them throughout November to spread the word on what they are doing and bringing to our city. If you haven't had a chance to stop by and check out these businesses I highly recommend doing so for some of your holiday shopping this year.
Our first spot light is on a local consignment boutique called Blogger Armoire!
It is owned and run by the effortlessly stylish Monica, who moved to our city after working on the west coast as part of the corporate team at Aritzia and then as a personal stylist once she became a mom.
Blogger Armoire is different than your typical clothing store in that it is a mix of both new and consignment pieces. If you are looking for great designer pieces at truly affordable prices, without the headache of digging through endless racks at the thrift store this is your place! Monica accepts gently worn pieces from local fashionistas and loves to pass on their stories to the new owners, the connections and stories are part of her passion as a stylist.
Not only is Monica bringing high end style to the masses, but she has made it her mission to also inject self confidence to teens and tweens in the city. Pieces on consignment that don't sell after their time in the store often get donated to struggling youth (with the former owner's blessing). For many young people fashion is a passion but they lack the funds to truly express themselves and Monica believes in empowering them with stylish pieces that make them feel good about themselves.
One of my favourite things about Blogger Armoire is that the store has been organized into coordinating collections. Each rack tells a story with pieces that Monica has hand picked to coordinate all together or in various combinations. There is a story to each rack, whether that's a nude/neutral story or a more bold, colourful story, suddenly a piece that might have seemed unremarkable on it's own looks like a million bucks as part of a whole ensemble.
Blogger Armoire is also starting a monthly curated rack that will feature pieces hand picked by local personalities that have a unique personal style! ( I may just have a rack happening soon, so stay tuned for more details!)
Aside from styling local ladies and selling clothing on behalf of fashionistas, Blogger Armoire is very invested in the city and has a handful of events coming up:
November 13: Blogger Armoire is sponsoring the launch of YEG People, a website featuring our cities admirable citizens.
December 3: Blogger Armoire and Mayfair Shoes are teaming up with a collection of curated shoes and handbags
December 12: Blogger Armoire is hosting a popup shop called "thenoveshop" showcasing artists and entrepreneurs from across the province and their wares.
And finally, they are partnering with Cavern to host a monthly Sip, Shop and Style event every few weeks! All the details will be shared with dates on their instagram and twitter profiles.
If you haven't had a chance to stop by and meet Monica, definitely take a little time to do so (and be sure to tell her Holly sent you *wink wink*)
My thanks to Monica and Blogger Armoire for letting me shoot and share their gorgeous boutique!!