The Citizen, 2018-02-15, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018. PAGE 11.
DeWit to expand to create Locally Unique, suites
An eye on expanding
Jackie DeWit and her husband Kris are only a few months removed from opening JD &
Company on the main street of Brussels and they are already expanding. Jackie hopes to
create Locally Unique next door, which will showcase local artists and high-end furniture
pieces, while they're also hard at work renovating six suites to be used by travellers and those
attending weddings at the new Brussels Four Winds Barn. The DeWits are seen here with their
children, six-year-old Ryker, left, and four-year-old Cooper. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Jackie DeWit, owner of the
recently -opened JD & Company,
already has her eye on expansion
and a grand opening this spring.
DeWit was the winner of Huron
East's third Win This Space
competition last October and the
first to focus on the Brussels
community At her main street
location, she has been selling No
Nonsense Natural Products, a brand
of her own creation, to much
acclaim since her opening in early
November.
In the coming months, however,
she hopes to expand to the storefront
to the south of her current location
and open Locally Unique, which
will focus on high-end furniture and
art products created by local
artisans. It will also provide her with
a workspace to chase her life-long
passion of restoring discarded
furniture.
Her skill in this department is
already on display at her current
location, where she has reclaimed
and restored several pieces of
furniture for use as displays. DeWit
has said that in the months since she
opened, she often has customers
asking to buy the furniture, but she
has had to turn them away, telling
them the pieces are not for sale.
In addition, DeWit and her
husband are already at work creating
luxury suites above and behind the
two storefronts in hopes of attracting
those coming to Brussels for
weddings at the new Four Winds
Barn slated to open this summer.
The plan, she said, is to build four
suites on the top floor and two on the
ground floor. The rentable units will
be more like short -stay apartments
than hotel rooms, she said. Two
suites will have three bedrooms and
be ideal for families with young
children or babies and two other
suites will have two bedrooms.
The rentable units will be named
after those with historical
significance to the property, DeWit
said. One will be named after Bryan
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Morton, the owner of the building as
well as of the Four Winds Barn,
while others will be named after
DeWit herself, Maitland, Huron,
Smith and McLaren (Smith &
McLaren had formerly occupied a
shop in the block that sold clothing
decades ago).
The hope, she said, is that those
who make their way to Brussels will
stay in the village now with this
option made available.
For the grand opening of the two
expansion projects, DeWit and her
family hope to host a joint open
house that will welcome Brussels
residents in to see all of the
improvements that they have made.
This, DeWit said, is just another
step in what has been a tremendous
budding relationship with the
community of Brussels.
Now a member of the Brussels
Lions Club, as well as the local
horticultural and agricultural
societies, DeWit said she has fully
embraced the Brussels community
and feels the community has
embraced her in turn. In fact, she
feels that what she's doing at JD &
Company has started a bit of an
"awakening" in the village.
With instructional paint nights and
other classes being held at her
location, DeWit said she's seeing
people out and about who haven't
been in ages. She thinks the
environment she has created at her
establishment has become a sort of
community hub for Brussels.
In addition, she said that with her
tremendous reach with social media,
she is turning into a "mentor of
sorts" to other entrepreneurs within
Brussels who have great ideas but
haven't had the courage to get their
ideas off the ground.
She says people she doesn't know
will come into the store and hug her,
thanking her for setting up shop in
Brussels. It's this kind of
connection, DeWit said, that assures
her that she made the right choice in
coming to Brussels, a community
she knows she'll live in for the rest
of her life.
In this spirit she hopes, that when
her luxury accommodations get off
the ground, to implement a business
partnership with other Brussels
establishments. If someone stays at
her suites in Brussels, they would be
given a card that would entitle them
to 10 per cent off at other
participating local businesses. In
turn, these businesses would be
involved in the JD & Company
website and help travellers
understand all that Brussels has to
offer before they travel to the
community.
DeWit said that while many of her
concepts have stretched beyond
those of a traditional business, she
feels that always reaching for
something greater is at the heart of
what it means to be an entrepreneur.
"That's what being an
entrepreneur is all about, never
saying, `that's enough,"' she said.
"That's why entrepreneurs never
retire."
As for the side of the business that
will have DeWit back working on
luxury furniture pieces, she said that
has been her passion for 20 years.
In 1998, DeWit said she painted
her first piece of furniture. She was
heading off to college and needed
furniture for her dorm room and
didn't have to buy anything. She has
been doing it ever since.
In fact, because she didn't want to
take out a loan to start No Nonsense
Natural Solutions, she funded its
creation through furniture. She
would refurbish one piece that
would pay for a vital part of the No
Nonsense project and now, the No
Nonsense project has paved the way
for her to return to her first love of
furniture.
DeWit is still working on a firm
date for her joint grand opening and
open house, but she hopes to host
residents in late March or early
April.
For more information on JD &
Company, visit jdandcompany.ca or
call 519-492-3234.
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