Friday, November 14th, 2014 Volume 78 • No. 26
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Wawota business welcome customers old and new with open house
INSIDE
Cornerstone Theatre – page 2
By Lynne Bell A group of Wawota businesses showcased local shopping and dining as they hosted their first annual Open House on Nov. 5 and 6. Front Porch Interiors Furniture and Design, King’s Department Store, and Grammie’s Gift Emporium welcomed shoppers, while 2nd Street Eats, Moose Mountain Meats, and the Wawota Hotel served specialty meals for the occasion. Shannon Houff, owner of Front Porch Interiors says, “Come in and let us dazzle you.” Houff’s 4,000 square-feet of selling space allows her to both inspire and encourage clients when it comes to design decisions. “I am in the fashion furniture industry, but I’m really in the business of helping people make their dreams a reality. What I do is help make beautiful, meaningful spaces for our customers and make everything look good together; whether that’s working with existing pieces in their home or starting from the floor on up. We carry quality furniture from suppliers such as Stylus, Norwalk, Thomasville, Palliser, and others. And we work with contractors and suppliers to make the building and renovating process as enjoyable as possible,” Houff says. “We’ll help people with a room plan and work with ideas that they have. We also sell everything off of the sales floor. What we do is create a vision in the store. The room scenarios are there to inspire people, and I change them often, so I can keep things fresh.” “Everything on the floor is 90 percent customizable and for sale.” However, Houff’s elegant and sophisticated store is not just for homeowners. “We also have a boutique area, because not everybody can walk out of the store with a sofa in their purse,” she laughs. “We have lots of gorgeous giftables right now-for Christmas as well as any other occasion. A few of the things we have are Thyme Fraser Fir candles, Naked Bee body butters and balms, and we have a great new line of jewellery from Beaucoup Designs, which features buildable necklaces with charms.”
Novelist Elizabeth Goodson – page 2
CFY young artists – page 3
Remembering Roy – page 18
Staff photo by Lynne Bell
Shannon Houff, of Wawota’s Front Porch Interiors Furniture and Design, says, “I am in the fashion furniture industry, but I’m really in the business of helping people make their dreams a reality. What I do is make beautiful, meaningful spaces for our customers and make everything look good together; whether that’s working with existing pieces in their home or starting from the floor on up.” “We have everything up right now-Christmas decor, accessories and extra giftables. We continue to welcome our existing clientele and of course, new clients. As I said, come in and let us dazzle you.” Bev King of King’s Department Store agrees. “Try us before you go out of town,” she says. “We’ve been in business 40 years, and we have clothing and shoes for the whole familyfrom infants to grandparents.” Both King’s Wawota and Carlyle locations stock apparel and footwear from a large cross section of brands, and this year is no exception. “Among the items we have this year are Nixon watches,” says King. “ For women, we also have Manitobah Mukluks, for men we have shirts, socks and Saxx underwear, and we have Ten Tree sweaters and T-shirts for both men and women.” “We also have fleece sheetsfrom cradle to king-size.” King says the stores’ commitment to customer service is
at the forefront of their business. “Like many stores, we offer gift certificates. But we will also bring in stock between our stores and our return policy makes it easy to shop with us. We are committed to our customers.” At Grammie’s Gift Emporium, owner Wendy Brehaut says of her customers, “When they come in, I want everyone to think of their Grandma, to experience a welcoming place like home.” In addition to her floral business featuring both permanent and natural arrangements for all occasions, Brehaut also sells a wide variety of goodsincluding shabby chic furniture pieces (which quickly sold out), Enamelware bakeware, Energy Muse jewellery, Painted Pony and Willow Tree figurines, Melissa and Doug toys, Lang calendars, as well as greeting cards, and everyday stationery and office supplies. “I am one of a few retailers in Saskatchewan that carry Enamelware,” she says. “It’s
really great bakeware, it’s very colourful, and it bakes like a breeze,” she says. “I’m also featuring firepots. They are safe to use inside and safe to roast marshmallows with, so I’m serving s’mores to my customers.” “I have gifts for everyone, and I like to say, ‘If I don’t have it, you don’t need it,’” she laughs. “But seriously, I always keep a quote by Maya Angelou in mind, ‘People won’t remember what you said or did; they remember how you made them feel.’ That’s something I want to embody in my business.” “Because of that, I have a Remembrance Day window display, and my Christmas stock isn’t available to purchase until after Nov. 11. I’m hosting the store’s Christmas Extravaganza on Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and I’ll have all of my Christmas stock out by then.”
Continued on page 2
S D HUGE SALE I H T KEN MEMORIAL HALL - CARLYLE OPEN ‘TIL 8 P.M. FRI. & SAT E E H 5T
Clothing & Footwear
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