Liz Dunn is laying down the final touches on her new thrift store, Boutique elle dit, a shop she describes as a high-quality second hand women’s clothing store in Lennoxville, Quebec.
“I’ve always been a thrift shopper, and you know around Lennoxville with the church sales and the Champlain refugee sale, those have always been highlighted on my calendar, but to have something a little more permanent really appealed to me,” said Dunn.
Barring any unforeseen setbacks, Dunn expects to open the boutique, located at 178 Queen, unit 102, on Oct. 10. According to the 33-year-old shop owner, everything began to fall into place about a month ago.
She spent the last year and a half searching for the right spot. She wanted to find an affordable space with an appropriate amount of room for her collection of clothes. She had previously visited the Queen Street location, but it was to consider taking over the space housing the old health food store.
Dunn said the space was far too big, so she passed on it. However, unit 102, which now belongs to her, was the perfect fit. The unit, unfortunately, was originally earmarked for an osteopath. But to Dunn’s surprise, no one ever moved into the building.
“I drove by one day and noticed that nothing had moved in, so I gave the landlord a call back and she explained that to me. I said I’d love to see it and things got going from there, that was about maybe the start of October,” she explained in a phone interview.
The boutique is already loaded with inventory. Dunn started collecting clothes roughly two years ago, building up a healthy stockpile. But she also plans to start accepting donations from Eastern Townships residents as early as next week.
She said the thrift shop will be all-inclusive, targeting women of all shapes and sizes. This is one of the most important aspects of the boutique, Dunn added, a lot of people have reached out on social media inquiring about clothing size.
New thrift shop coming to Lennoxville
By Michael Boriero - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter