Shoes, shoes, shoes. We love shoes!  What you wear on your feet is such an expression of your personality.  Are you conservative? Funky? Do you prefer style over comfort, or comfort over style? Indeed, you can tell a lot about someone by what they wear on their feet.  This week’s Spotlight business is owned by Gemma Quiring, who loves helping people express their personality with their footwear and accessories.

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Ladies, we know you’ll agree with what we’re saying here.  And gents, you may or may not appreciate this, but it is a lot of work to have a woman’s body.  Women’s bodies change in puberty, then again at pregnancy, after pregnancy, at menopause. What part of the body takes a huge brunt of these changes?  The breasts. They’re forever changing, and it’s not a simple task to find beautiful underthings that fit properly.  That’s why we’re thankful for great shops like Feminine Form.  Owner Sarah Vandekerkhove knows what it’s like to experience these changes and decided to open up a shop of her own, to help local women find beautiful comfort and function, regardless of their changing bodies!

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We absolutely love (LOVE!!) fresh flowers.  They really do help one appreciate the simple, pure beauty of nature, of life.  Any bouquet of flowers is gorgeous, but an arrangement created by a truly talented floral artist can be breathtaking. Alexis McLeod, of Abbotsford’s Simply Perfect Flowers, is one of the talented artists we speak of.  From the displays of home decor items in her shop to the stunning floral arrangements she presents to customers, Alexis’ creativity shines through.

Alexis has been working in the floral industry for 21 years.  In 2004 she purchased Simply Perfect Flowers, though she has been working there since 2000.  Until recently, Alexis and her family were living in Sechelt, where they learned to appreciate the small town  life, a more relaxed way of living and the boutique-style shopping experiences.  That is some kind of dedication to doing what she loves – it sure is a long commute to Sechelt!

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We admittedly spend a small fortune on books each year.  No matter how busy life gets, a good book will always wiggle its way into our daily routine, at least for a few minutes.  Until recently we had only sometimes considered pre-loved books as a viable option, mostly because it actually involved us getting ourselves to a used book store.  This year we came across several fabulous used book stores throughout the Fraser Valley, with one particular gem in Chilliwack shining brightly!  The Book Man, BC’s second largest used bookstore, has just launched its e-store… how exciting!!!

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