Great news for lovers of fast-fashion! Yesterday, H&M released a statement declaring they are to open their first store in Ottawa in the fall of 2013 at Bayshore Shopping Centre. H&M is known for their affordable prices while still offering the latest trends and basics at a fraction of a cost of department store prices, all the while gaining international recognition for collaborating with higher end, ready-to-wear designers such as Versace, Marni, and Maison Martin Margiela. When asked why H&M decided to come to Ottawa, Public Relations Manager for H&M... | Continue reading article

Walking into Amanda May Lingerie is like being granted entrance into a sophisticated lady’s Parisian closet. Situated on trendy Dalhousie Street, the 600 square foot space is nothing but head to toe elegance. With soft lighting, delicate lace garments and antique accessories throughout the room, Amanda May puts the sophistication back into lingerie shopping, and will likely leave you stunned at the thought of buying a 3-pack of cotton undies ever again. Inspired by the empowered, confident women of Ottawa and abroad, store owner Amanda May Beaubien says that while... | Continue reading article

We’re celebrating local business all month with our second annual Support Local Month. Last month’s Creative Mornings lecture with Katie and Regine from Victoire Boutique captured so much of our motivation for this project that we asked the team at Creative Morning if we could share the video here. Katie and Regine are amazing local business leaders and we have so much respect for what they do. If you’re interested in what it takes to succeed as a shop owner here in Ottawa, take a few minutes to let them... | Continue reading article

It seems like just yesterday that Apartment613 was celebrating our launch party at Raw Sugar cafe. We really love the spot and we always turn to Nadia and her great staff, when we have a milestone to celebrate. We spent the night there last night celebrating the launch of Support Local Month and this winter we unveiled the new look for Apartment613 there. Raw Sugar is celebrating a milestone of it’s own this weekend. It their fourth anniversary party. They have assembled a great list of DJs and will have a fun... | Continue reading article

City Hall was buzzing this week with the debate over whether Ottawa should consider a proposal for a new casino from OLG. Many thought that the debate lacked the time or nuance required and addiction experts spoke out about the harmful effects a casino might have on the population. Council passed the motion with a vote of 19 to 5. The Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa is working to reunite a mother and her child after she gave birth in an Ottawa jail cell. The shocking story has been raising... | Continue reading article

Ottawa will soon be home to Canada’s largest eco-friendly department store, offering local consumers thousands of environmentally sustainable products. With more than 12,000 green products, among them eco-friendly housewares, cosmetics, toys and clothing, the store will contain the largest selection of environmentally responsible goods under one roof in North America. Set to occupy part of the former Ikea building at the Pinecrest Shopping Centre in Nepean, the new store will be called terra20, and will be the first outlet in what the owners hope will become a national green retail chain. The store will also offer an ecobar where customers can refill cleaning supplies into their own containers, thereby reducing... | Continue reading article

During my extensive research for this article, I stumbled upon this clip from 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In the clip, the children are welcomed into the factory by a strange and rather morally ambiguous Gene Wilder. Now, I would contend, and I think anyone who has toured any candy factory, that this scene is somewhat removed from reality. I once toured the now-no-more Hershey’s factory in Smiths Falls, and at the time I was struck by the lack of whimsy, majesty and creepy men singing “come with... | Continue reading article

It’s going to be a great weekend in Chinatown. The weather looks great, making it a perfect day for a stroll through the arch to take in a remixed version of Chinatown. For the fourth year in a row, local Chinatown businesses have teamed up with Ottawa-based artists to turn Chinatown into one huge gallery. From the Daily Grind in the East to Purple Urchin in the West – 54 different locations are taking part. You’ve got a month to take in the art, but today you can take in... | Continue reading article

Just in time for the impending March break (and some pretty mild weather according to CBC’s Ian Black) Aaron Cayer, owner of Antique Skateboards, is opening a retail shop in Centretown. Antique has a history of leading some cool projects, including the “While you were on Facebook” video series (embedded above), where Aaron created a community-drive skateboard video that celebrated the sport in Ottawa. He’s hoping to think a bit differently about the business, building something that reflects the community that Antique has developed. “I want to get people motivated... | Continue reading article

Post by Kim Bosch Squinting to see spring, but still too creeped out to have your cornea lasered? Ottawa has a few great independent eyeglass stores to frame up your peepers in style. For the practical-minded, there’s Pflug Optical (1580 Merivale), an Ottawa staple for over 30 years. They offer classic shapes with small quirks (e.g. standard rectangle frame in vibrant green). Pflug is a great place for those having trouble picking out frames on their own. Excellent customer service and honest opinions are abundant at this shop. If Elton... | Continue reading article