- by Abbey Blokland

According to Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) news, one in seven small businesses are at risk of closure from the results of COVID-19. This means 5 to 22% of businesses may close in Ontario. In downtown Owen Sound, small businesses are opening during the pandemic despite these odds. Here's the first in a series about local women in business.

On September 5th, Wild Flowers Consignment opened to the public in downtown Owen Sound. The owner, Laurie Boycott, found a passion for consigning clothing and wanted to express her joy to the community about recycling clothes and giving them a second chance.

The pandemic has already caused a challenge for Laurie when she was not able to get all the supplies she needs for her store. Another challenge she faces as a store owner in the community is not being able to see her customers. Sure, they are face to face, but the face coverings make it hard for her to get to know what her customers look like and who they are.

The Wild Flowesr Consignment store downtown serves a great purpose for the city of Owen Sound. With residents usually having to travel miles for quality brands, the local store sells secondhand products cheaper. This business also helps reduce landfill waste, water usage and factory emissions.

Consignment businesses and thrift stores are different. Thrift stores take donations and give no profit back, while consignment stores take high quality brands and give a percentage of the profit back when your item sells.

There are already around 200 items of clothing, shoes, bags, sportswear, and accessories consigned weekly to the Wildflower Consignment. To consign clothing, you can make an appointment for Monday or Tuesday, but if you only have a few pieces of clothing you can just walk in.

There are two ways to consign clothing.  You can come in and browse while Laurie looks through your clothing, or you can drop off your clothing and leave. With this way, you have three days to pick up remaining clothes or they are donated to charity.

You can find more information at the Wild Flowers consignment website and see the latest additions at Facebook page.

For a little over a month, the Wild Flowers Consignment business has been open to the public. With more clothes to consign and more visitors as people get to know the store, Laurie will be able to excel in her business during the pandemic.