The co-owners of the Spa Rivier Boutique want to help the women who shop there to feel empowered.
“It’s a boutique about letting women feel beautiful, any shape, size, or form,” says Deanna McCulloch, who co-owns and runs the shop, as well as the spa and salon next door, with her mother, Donna Jacobsen.
The boutique, which opened on Reid Street in March, felt like a natural expansion from the salon, says Jacobsen.
“We work with women all the time, and have conversations day in and day out with them, and that’s what you hear: you need more clothing and shoes and shopping in Quesnel.”
The president of the Quesnel Downtown Association, Mitch Vik, says he applauds the duo for taking a chance and expanding their business.
“It’s great when local businesses expand and try new things.”
It wasn’t entirely new territory: the mother-daughter duo had had some success selling shoes and other accessories out of their salon in the past, and they’d discussed expanding. But it wasn’t until the space next door to the salon opened up, says Jacobsen, that “we just jumped in with both feet.”
The boutique carries clothing from size small to 3X, most of which comes from Canadian brands. It also carries a variety of accessories, as well as home and garden decorations.
McCulloch says there was definitely a need for a boutique that carries larger sizes.
“A lot of women have a hard time shopping [in Quesnel.] And to have the little gift and garden stuff with it, they just find it’s great, a one-stop shop. You can get a couple things that will make you feel good. They seem to really like it.”
Jacobsen says the salon expansion has exceeded their expectations. “The initial acceptance has been phenomenal.”
Even with the road construction on Reid Street, as water mains beneath the road are replaced, she says, “people are still coming.”
Once construction ends, the women believe things will pick up even more.
When asked if they wear any of the clothing sold in their shop, McCulloch laughs.
“Only my entire outfit.”