Bins of ideas behind new business

BY HEATHER KILLEN

Annapolis County Spectator

Best Friends Fashion Bins is twice as nice, with stores now in two counties.

After years of talking about it, Sherrie MacKay and Theresa Cranton opened their first used clothing store earlier this year in Granville Ferry.

November 16, it happened again, when Best Friends Fashion Bins opened an outlet in Kingston. “We’re ‘hurry up people’, we wanted to jump on and go,” says Cranton. “We waited years to open the first one, we weren’t going to waste any more time.”

They wanted the chance to be their own bosses and run with their own ideas. Every time they took a road trip to Digby and yonder in search of chic rural finds, a la Chez Francois, they told each other someone should open up a similar store in their neck of the woods.

Earlier this year, they became their own bosses. And, they like running with their own ideas so much, they decided to repeat the experience with a new store. Now, Cranton manages the Granville Ferry store, while MacKay manages Kingston. “I had looked at a few sites in Greenwood and was about to give up, and that’s when I found this place,” says MacKay. “I loved the space with all the hardwood.”

The foot traffic in Kingston has already made for booming business, and many people are thanking her for opening the new store, saving them a trip to another community on the bus. “People walk everywhere here,” she adds, “to the grocery store, the bank and the bakery....”

Opening this second location was easy compared to the first store, she says. “It was so much smoother: we knew what to do this time around - and the third one will be even easier!”

They hope to open their third store and become an official franchise next spring. MacKay says they have two terrific suppliers of quality items and brand name clothing, they keep their prices competitively low and try to create a bright, homey environment where people feel comfortable shopping. As mothers, they also wanted to keep their Annapolis Royal store open in the evenings to give stay-at-home-moms a chance to get away for some much needed “shopping-therapy” while the kids spend quality time with dad.

Another idea was to create an ongoing fund to support cancer research. For every pink item sold, the store will donate 50 cents to the cure for cancer. Both have close friends and family who’ve been touched by the disease and, so far, they’ve raised about $400.

Scrapbooking has also been popular in the Granville Ferry location; it will resume there after the holidays. MacKay doesn’t have any immediate plans to introduce it in Kingston, but she is handing out customer loyalty cards with savings and discounts.

To keep up-to-date on events and sales, visit the Best Friends Fashion Bins site on Facebook.