Author: Ysabel Mano

Style and Elegance in Women’s Fashion

There’s a feeling you get when you put on that new outfit and step out with confidence for your day. For thirty years and counting, Close to You Fashion Boutique has been helping Parksville’s women feel their best, while working together to make sure the community is strong.

A Warm Touch With a Talent for Connection

Dropping in to Close to You’s location in Corfield Plaza, across from Thrifty’s Foods, we found owner Sandy Herle and her staff hard at work getting ready for their weekly, live-stream fashion show. 

“We host a Women & Wine Wednesday fashion show every week. It’s so much fun. We have staff who model for us and a couple of our regular customers, as well. The shows are streamed live on Facebook and through our YouTube Channel. It’s a great way to see what’s hot and what’s coming,” Herle said.

“We have long-standing, trusted relationships with key designers across Canada and globally. Joseph Ribkoff’s beautiful blouses, slacks, jackets, and evening dresses are some of our most popular styles. We’re always looking for that splash of colour that pairs well. Classy looks, but also a lot of freshness. We have everything from beach wear to shoes and lingerie. If you wear it, we have it.”

Customers Who Become Friends

We asked Herle about her community reputation, built through her boutique management and an early-2000s stint as Parksville’s mayor. “Nothing is as important to me as serving people well. I know ‘good service’ is such an overused term, and it’s hard to find. With our amazing team, we take service excellence very seriously. Finding the right swimsuit or a bra that fits after a mastectomy — those are the times when a woman wants someone who knows exactly which item of clothing will bring out her vibrancy. We’re always looking to help our customers look and feel their very best.”

“It’s our boutique’s motto that we give back, to our customers and to our community. We have great events for women to come and enjoy, plus heads-up specials and coupons through our e-newsletter. We support several Vancouver Island and Parksville charities that focus on helping women through the tough times of life, including the Society of Organized Service (SOS) and the 100 Women Who Care movement,” Herle told us.

Find Out What’s Hot for Next Season

Close to You Fashion Boutique has its finger on the pulse of what’s coming next through the designers you love. By keeping track of the pieces already in your wardrobe, their team can help you find that next hot item that will make your season sparkle.

Stop in this week to see what’s new or check out Close to You online and find out how easy their website shopping experience is. Plan to attend a Wednesday fashion show, in-person or online, to see what your girlfriends at the boutique have brought into town, to keep you looking marvelous. 

A Community Hardware Store at Work

Whether you’re fixing a dripping bathroom faucet or upping your game with a new BBQ for summer backyard parties, your community hardware store provides a supply chain anchor. To succeed, our plans and projects — big and small — rely on having the right items, exactly when we need them. 

In Parksville downtown, Home Hardware has been a trusted part of the local business community for decades. Community residents rely on the vast inventory accessible through Parksville Home Hardware’s links to regional distribution centres and national supply logistics. Getting what you need, right where you are, has been Home Hardware’s Canadian success story for 60 years.

Home Improvement Supplies & New Garden Furniture, Too

We stopped by to talk to Bill Ormiston, owner of Parksville Home Hardware, across from The Beach Club. “We’re the biggest little hardware store on Vancouver Island,” Ormiston said. “If we don’t have what you need on our shelves already, we’ll get it for you quickly. We tap into the Home Hardware regional distribution centre weekly, so our customers know that they can get great quality and selection right here in Parksville — that new bathtub, ride-on mower, or the perfect patio furniture set for summer backyard fun. We offer free assembly of items like BBQs for our customers — we want excellent customer service to be the hallmark of each visit to our store.”

Ormiston went on, “We’ve built a core team over many years. We’re proud of the way our staff serves our customers. Several of our staff members have been with us over a decade. We greet long-time customers by name, as they return frequently for the quality and selection they trust, right here in Parksville. One of the best parts about being so central to the Parksville community is that we get to meet new folks every day!”

Friendliness with a Special Niche, Too

“We carry wine and beer brewing supplies in our store, and this sets us apart a bit. We love being able to support our Parksville neighbours as they create homes and businesses with everything they need for family comfort, office functionality, and leisure-time fun,” Ormiston said.

A Family Business Ensuring Hometown Goodness

Parksville Home Hardware is a multi-generational family affair. As the story goes, Ormiston and his wife, Carol, first met — you guessed it — in the store! Every year, the store gives back to the community through sponsorship of the area’s famous Beach Festival and Sandcastle Sculpting. 

Whether you need a new cordless drill, paint to brighten inside or out, a new kettle in the kitchen, or a BBQ for your deck — Parksville Home Hardware has you covered. Stop in this week, to check out the new items in-store. And bring your next home project idea along, too. Let your local hardware store experts help to make your dreams become reality.