The Ugliest Store on Main Street!

Giving Gifts is opening a STORE! Not a online store, not a showroom, but a real brick and mortar store! I couldn't be more excited! I have been dreaming about opening a store for a long time. My phone is filled with pictures of "For Lease" signs and I've spent countless late nights looking online for the perfect space. The question I always get at markets are: "where is your store?" or "why don't you have a store?" That one is usually accompanied by a look of bewilderment. There are many reasons I've never opened a store. I'm not a huge risk taker and rent in Vancouver is expensive! Also, I have three young kids and a part-time job that I love, so it just wouldn't be fair to my family to open a store.

That is why THIS store is so special! It is a Pop-Up Store on Main Street with 8 other small stores and artists. Giving Gifts will have its own space, a room at the front that will be set-up as a store. Our Main Street Pop-Up Store is by far the ugliest brick building on Main Street, but the landlord is letting us try it out for 6 weeks to see if we can make it work. Also, the space inside is neat. Rather than being set-up like a traditional store, it is 5 rooms of different sizes which will allow each of us to take a room and really make it our own. Another thing that works for me about this store is that we will all be selling for each other! Therefore, we can all share the time, yet still have our retail space open 6 days a week. It is the perfect arrangement! If it proves to be successful, I will keep it open until the end of 2013 and invite new artists to be part of our space every couple of months. I'm responsible for the lease so I really hope it works. It will be like a co-operative store with everyone chipping in to help each other. I've heard there are stores like that in other cities, but I'm not sure we have one in Vancouver. I am so excited by the concept.

The Main St Pop-Up Shop is opening on Friday, February 15th with 9 stores/artists taking part until March 31st. Our Grand Opening party is Saturday, February 16th from 10am to 8pm. We are going to transform the ugliest store on Main Street into the best place to shop!

It won't be hard to find us, just look for the ugly brick building on Main St (at 30th). The exact address is 4570 Main Street. But don't judge it based on the outside as I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised by what you find inside!

The following artists/vendors are taking part:

Once Twice Design Antiques

Honeywild

Clare's Collectables

Daria's Hats