Brick & Mortar Living has moved from the shadows of Begbie Street to an eye-catching downtown location.
Owners/sisters Julia Dewhurst and Emma Nash, along with their mother, Jennifer Pistone, opened the new location for the gift store on Saturday. They took the space over from Redbrick owner Michael Richardson, who closed his furniture store for "personal reasons."
"One of the things we love more than anything is window displays ... and, of course, there's ample windows over there to share the love," Pistone told The Record when the paper first reported the plans to move last month.
Pistone and her daughters found it difficult to deal with the landlord at their Begbie Street location. Through a chance chat with Richardson, Pistone learned his location was becoming available.
Along with increasing Brick & Mortar's profile, the new location also means a rent increase, Pistone said. As for business, Pistone said it's been tough to make it work, but she is committed to helping her daughters live their dream.
A sign of her commitment: Pistone actually lives in Seattle. She says due to her work with the shop she's spent a great deal of time on this side of the border - more than she probably wants to.
Despite the challenges, they have managed to carve out a place for themselves in New Westminster's challenging retail climate.
"The reason we've done so well is because of the nature of social media. We bring a lot of people to New West that otherwise wouldn't come," Pistone said.
She also says they've had a ton of local support, but they will continue with their social media push even though the new location has shifted their curb appeal to busy Sixth Street.
