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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-05-03, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1988. (Blyth woman returns to open -mers store $ Other communities loss is Blyth’s gain as another new shop opens in the village. Valerie Gauley looked at God­ erich, Bayfield and other area communities when she began thinking of opening Blu-mers, her new lingerie shop, but in the end came “home” to Blyth where she saw the potential is greatest. This weekend she and Sherry Reavie at Dressing Room Only will take part in the grand opening of The House Village Shoppes, the new shopping centre in an old house on Dinsley St. East in Blyth. A Goderich resident now, Valer­ ie grew up and attended school in Blyth and so it was natural for her to think of Blyth when she decided to open a shop. The location of The House also attracted her interest. She had, she says, always wanted a shop of her own. While managing a photography shop in a Goderich shopping mall she saw the popularity ofalingerie shop there and thought that would be a good business to get into. In addition, she says, when she did wedding photography (she took an advanced photography course at Conestoga College), she heard Blyth wins as site for store Valerie Gauley, a Blyth native has returned home to open her own shop, Blu-mers which will be part of the grand opening of The House Village Shoppes this week. Blu-mers specializes in lingerie. Business has been good so far for Sherry Reavie at her new shop Dressing Room Only part of The House Village Shoppes development on Dinsley Street East in Blyth. The shop has been open since April 16 but will take part in the official opening of the new shopping facility this week It was the concept and the location of The House Village Shoppes that finally moved Sherry Reavie to put into action her long-time idea of opening a clothing shop. It was knowing nearly two years ago that Elaine Scrimgeour was interested in buying and renovating the old hduse on Dinsley Street just east of the main street in Blyth that made her think now was the time to turn her dreams into reality. After two years of planning Dressing Room Only opened in The House in mid April and so far, Sherry says, shehasbeenreally pleased with the response. Most of the customers for the shop come from Blyth, Wingham and Clinton, not surprising because of her past connections. A Lucknow native, she has lived in Wingham for years and for the last five years has driven through Blyth to Clinton where she worked as a part time Registered Nursing Assistant. When the chance came to open the shop, however, she knew it was time for a change. The change isn’t as big as you might think, she says. Both as an RNA and as a merchant she works closely with people. She picked Blyth as the location of her shop after doing a fair bit of research. No doubt adding to the attraction of the village wa$ the more than 35,000 people who visit Blyth to attend the Blyth Festival every summer but she’s very concerned that local people don’t complaints from people who had to go to the cities to get special lingerie items. She brings a solid business background to her venture, being the third generation of a Blyth business family.^he also has a considerable amount of experience in retailing clothing after working for five years at The Old Mill, south of Blyth. She began working part time during high school then going on to work full time, rising to the position of assistant manager. She credits Glenyce and Jayne Snell of The Old Mill with givingfier a great deal of training with ordering and stocking clothing and dealing with tne public. She also got into photography there, helping photo­ graph models for advertising. Along the way she has also studied marketing, retailing, prac­ tical law and has taken courses in modelling and gained an idea of the other end of advertising working for several months in The Citizen’s advertising department. She finally decided to start her own shop in what she calls “my New Year’s resolution”. There is a lot of risk involved in starting your own business, she says, especially think she’s there mainly to cater to tourists. That’s why she is staying open year round, she says, and it’s why she is trying to stock clothing that will suit both the local population and tourists. The shop is small and comfort­ able, furnished with antiques and plenty of wooden clothes racks. She had a definite idea what kind of shop she wanted to have, she says. She looked’at the way other clothing stores operated but “I think I knew basically what I wanted.” She had to go with her own instincts and ideas, she says. “It’s my store, my own taste and ideas”.' That’s why, she says, competition doesn’t bother her. Getting the new shop into operation meant spending a lot of time in Toronto on buying trips in the last few months. The buying was made even more difficult because'stores have to buy six months ahead. It meant she had to buy their spring stock then turn around and order stock for the fall before her shop even welcomed its first customer. It's a little frighten­ ing, she admits, ordering next fall’s stock when she hasn’t had a chance yet to get to know her clientele. It’s difficult to define the market she’s aiming at, she says because she thinks of her clothing as medium priced but it may seem high to some shoppers and low to others. One thing she has made clear to her suppliers is thatshe has a small shop and she won’t buy in when you're so young but she feels now is the time to do it. Later on a family might keep her from trying to start her business, she says. The decision to go ahead led to a hectic round of planning. Firkt there was financing to arrange, then stock had to be ordered. She went to Toronto where various suppliers set up displays in one hotel showing the styles, sizes and colours of various items they stocked. She deals with six major companies, she says, most operat­ ing out of Toronto. Much of the stock is made in Montreal though some is European. She alsocarries smaller, gift­ type items which she bought through the gift show. She hopestostock things that local people would ordinarily have had to travel to the city for. She’s also intending togetintobridal and maternity items and is trying to find suppliers to stock a full range of larger sizes. Lingerie, she feels, is important to the well dressed woman because it doesn’t matter how expensive a dress is, if the lingerie underneath doesn’t fit right, the dress won’t look right. big volumes, won’tfor instance carry every size in every style. The little, personalized shop doesn’t pretend to provide everything for every shopper. 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