Another Time and Place

I want to be surrounded by beautiful things. Always.

That is my guiding light through every part of my life. My home, my closet, my body, my business—my everything. I jokingly say there is no excuse for ugly, but I actually mean it. Beauty is an inside job that manifests externally. Beauty is a feeling. It causes one to pause and reflect, to breathe, and to dream. When I'm choosing items for my store, connecting with that feeling is what I look for. And that's what makes ZÖE, ZÖE. It is a product of my personal imagination. It is a manifestation of that feeling that I need to be alive.

ZÖE is the last of its kind, originating some 40 years ago on College Avenue when people shopped in shops and purchased the latest from visionary shop owners. At that time there were other notable shops, such as Loggies and Marlers, but these shops are now gone.

Time and Technology have changed the way we live. Where streets were once filled with people shopping, now people shop online before they look for a real store, so unless they intentionally seek out a real store, they miss experiencing beauty and all the joy that comes with finding the perfect shoe or piece of clothing and taking it home that day. There are no shipping fees. Just a simple time honoured, tactical shopping experience in real time.

We have adapted too, creating our online shopping store for our customers both in Regina and outside of out city.  Each customer is important to me and it is important that the experience is  . . . beautiful. 

A physical store is more of an anomalie now.  Very often, we are told "there is no place in Regina to buy beautiful shoes." And it's true. We are the last place. A one-of-a-kind business in Regina. There are no other shops in our city where you can purchase quality footwear brands that are both fashionable and wearable.

ZÖE belongs to another time and place. She is the result of my lifelong pursuit for beauty—from footwear, to carefully curated clothing and special objects, to an environment thoughtfully designed to enrich the soul. As keeper of her legacy over the past 10 years, I have loved, nurtured, and invested in creating something that cannot be replicated anywhere else.

And yes, she is rare and beautiful. And like all things rare and beautiful, she is also vulnerable. A physical store has higher costs than an online store.

She requires more than admiration and appreciation to thrive.  Otherwise, she too will join the great independent shops of the past. 

Lynn