January 27, 2021

Winnipeg
-20° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Canstar Community News
    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Flyers
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photostore
  • More

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Flyers
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photostore
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Read Now Pay later
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
Winnipeg Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe
Arts & Life Arts & Entertainment The Arts

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

The long way home

She took her dream of owning a craft boutique from Winnipeg to London to B.C. — and to the depths of mental illness — and back

By: David Sanderson
Posted: 3:00 AM CST Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019
Last Modified: 10:32 AM CST Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019 | Updates

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Tara Davis, owner of Tara Davis Studio Boutique, knew from an early age she wanted to be a shopkeeper, but the travel bug, and a two-year work visa in England, got in the way. Now, she’s getting set to celebrate her business’s 10th anniversary.</p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Tara Davis, owner of Tara Davis Studio Boutique, knew from an early age she wanted to be a shopkeeper, but the travel bug, and a two-year work visa in England, got in the way. Now, she’s getting set to celebrate her business’s 10th anniversary.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 1/12/2019 (423 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kids say and do the funniest things, right?

To prove that point yet again, the website www.babygaga.com posted an article listing amusing responses youngsters in the States came up with after being asked the age-old question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Answers included tattoo artist, king and — how great would this be? — a dog.

Closer to home, Tara Davis, owner of Tara Davis Studio Boutique, a combination art gallery and gift shop that specializes in wares fashioned by, as it says in the front window, more than 100 "dreamers and makers," a large percentage of whom call Winnipeg home, guesses she’s one of a select few who knew precisely what she wanted to be eons ago, and successfully turned that dream into reality.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Tara Davis knew from an early age she wanted to own a boutique.</p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Tara Davis knew from an early age she wanted to own a boutique.

"I was probably three or four when I started playing ‘shop,’" says Davis, 42, seated in the rear section of her brightly lit space at 246 McDermot Ave.

"I would take all my mom’s belongings and put price stickers on the bottom of them, then sell everything back to her. I know the term hustler has a bad connotation but that’s exactly what I was, this little hustler, especially if there was a garage sale going on, when I’d be out in the driveway pushing all my old toys on passersby."

The shop celebrates its 10th year in operation — the first two of which were spent in Nelson, B.C., more about that shortly — in January.


MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Locally made ceramics are just one part of Davis’ business.</p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Locally made ceramics are just one part of Davis’ business.

'He jokingly told me that small business entrepreneurs sometimes need to be a little crazy in the head and perhaps this might be a perfect fit' ‐ Tara Davis, recounting advice from her father, with no fear of discussing her bout with mental illness

Davis, sporting a flowing, floral top and fashionable, wide-length culottes, has always been one to stand out in a crowd. Even when she was attending St. Mary’s Academy, an all-girls school that requires students to wear a prescribed uniform, she did her best to put a personal spin on her look. Chuckling, she remembers showing up for class with platinum blonde or fire-engine red hair, skirting a rule that stated students’ coifs had to be a natural shade, "no pinks or purples, allowed" she says with a wink.

When she was 11, Davis accompanied her mother and grandmother on a trip to Europe. Seconds after their flight touched down in Paris, she knew she’d been bitten by the travel bug.

"I was 17 when I enrolled at university but honestly, the only reason I went at all was because I was too young to see the world on my own," she says. "I showed up for class every day and my marks were decent but in my head I was already gone.

Davis moved to London in 1995. With a two-year working visa in her back pocket, she landed a job at the Hard Rock Café. As often as possible, she’d use whatever money she’d saved up to fly to Amsterdam or Rome for the weekend.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Davis works on the loom located in her shop.</p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Davis works on the loom located in her shop.

Funny story: she was still a server at the iconic watering hole in 1996 when members of a fledgling, American pop group stopped by for a drink. At one point they asked her if she wanted to accompany them to a nearby club, where they were going dancing. It wasn’t until a few months later, when she returned to Winnipeg for Christmas and spotted posters of NSYNC plastered on a friend’s little sister’s bedroom wall, that she realized if she’d played her cards right, "I could have been Mrs. Justin Timberlake."

During her stay in England, Davis dated an architecture student who, impressed with the clothing and jewelry she was making for herself, told her she should seriously consider a career in design. She heeded his advice when she returned to Winnipeg in 1997.

After completing a 10-month jewelry art course at Sturgeon Creek Collegiate followed by an art-for-non-majors course at the University of Manitoba, she was accepted into Toronto’s Ontario College of Art and Design. During her fourth and final year of studies there, Davis, who had been living with mental health issues for some time, was diagnosed with a severe bi-polar disorder. Unable to attend class, she returned to Winnipeg and moved in with her mother.

"At the time I could hardly function," she states, taking a sip of water from a plastic pitcher, her vessel of choice. "I could barely eat, and needed my mom to feed me. For months, I rarely left the house but luckily my parents had connections with some of the best (mental health) doctors in the city, one of whom saw me every week for a year, often outside of office hours, to make my sure my meds were balanced."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Work from artist Takashi Iwasaki: he is among more than 100 “dreamers and makers” supplying Davis’ shop.</p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Work from artist Takashi Iwasaki: he is among more than 100 “dreamers and makers” supplying Davis’ shop.

'People want local, but they don't necessarily want local that they just saw at three craft sales on the weekend' ‐ Tara Davis, on the challenges of stocking a store of locally made crafts

In 2005, Davis joined Artbeat Studio, a non-profit program that provides support and studio space for artistically-minded individuals living with mental illness. Initially her father had to drive her to and from the organization’s Albert Street premises but after six months, she was able to bus there on her own. In time, she became a studio assistant, teaching others how to weave, a skill she picked up during her tenure in Ontario.

Feeling better, Davis got a part-time sales job at a boutique in Osborne Village. Six years later, by which point she had graduated to full-time manager, she reconnected with a fellow she knew growing up. She was "pretty smitten," she says and after the two of them spent five months travelling throughout Southeast Asia, they moved to Nelson, a picturesque, former mining town in the B.C. interior.

One afternoon, she was walking down Baker Street, Nelson’s main commercial hub, when she spotted a for rent sign in the window of a vacant storefront. Ever since she began selling her own jewelry, paintings and apparel at pop-up markets in Winnipeg a few years earlier, she’d contemplated opening a store stocked top to bottom with the work of "dreamers," like herself.

Figuring this was her golden opportunity, she contacted the person responsible for leasing the space. Following a tour of the 340-square-foot property, she immediately called her father, a successful realtor, whose advice she had always deemed invaluable.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Magnets, including one vintage Jets logo, are on display.</p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Magnets, including one vintage Jets logo, are on display.

"He jokingly told me that small business entrepreneurs sometimes need to be a little crazy in the head and perhaps this might be a perfect fit," she says with a laugh.

Within 24 hours, she came up with a name for her biz, as well as the required three months’ rent. Just four days later, Tara Davis Studio Boutqiue opened to the public, featuring an assortment of handmade clothing, gift items, stationary and art pieces she had rapidly sourced from makers she knew in Winnipeg, together with crafters she’d formed relationships with in B.C.

The Nelson operation was a hit from the get-go, Davis says. But because she’s a "prairie girl at heart," she began making plans to return to Winnipeg in the fall of 2011. Knowing she wanted to build upon what she’d established out west, she flew back expressly to check out the available main floor of the Sures Building, a 137-year-old, three-storey structure that, during its long history, housed a grocery wholesaler and garment maker. She signed on the dotted line, knowing the increased area would enable her to more than triple the number of people whose work she could showcase, from 30 to more than 100.

"It’s been interesting plus a bit of a challenge figuring out what and what not to stock through the years," she says.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>Davis says stocking a store such as hers in a city with as many weekly craft markets as in the Winnipeg area, can be a challenge.</p></p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Davis says stocking a store such as hers in a city with as many weekly craft markets as in the Winnipeg area, can be a challenge.

The Winnipeg edition of Tara Davis Studio Boutique opened in March 2012.

"People want local, but they don’t necessarily want local that they just saw at three craft sales on the weekend. In the beginning I tried to bring in things my mom or my sister would like, figuring that was my demographic, but now I concentrate on what I feel is a right fit for the store, in general.

"The majority of my clients used to be in their 40s and 50s but that’s ever changing, I’m seeing more people in their 20s and 30s, all the time."

Kristen Wiltshire is a Winnipeg artist whose paintings have been displayed on Davis’s walls and whose line of hand-rendered greeting cards and prints have been for sale at the store ever since she and Davis met at an emergency shelter and drop-in centre six years ago, where both were volunteering. (A huge mental-health advocate, Davis regularly donates her time to a number of organizations dedicated to people living with maladies similar to hers.)

Stay informed

The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

Subscribe to COVID-19 Briefing
Sign Up
The business, now located on McDermot Avenue, fits nicely into the charming Sures Building.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

The business, now located on McDermot Avenue, fits nicely into the charming Sures Building.

"Oh my yes, Tara’s boutique has so many beautiful items," Wiltshire says, when asked if she’s ever dropping off stock and spots something on the shelves or glass display units she just can’t live without. "I am always drawn to the unique jewelry, such as gorgeous pieces featuring bold messages written in braille, or cheeky cards that make me laugh." (Our favourite: one that reads, "You & birthday cake go wayyyyy back."

"It is incredibly important and in fact life-changing when a shop owner prioritizes local makers," she says. "One of the concepts Tara and I have talked about is that every time someone supports a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance. Tara allows that to happen for over 100 makers and that’s a lot of dancing."

Lastly, because hitting the road to recharge her batteries is so important to her well-being, Davis made a commitment to herself years ago that despite the fact she is a hands-on business owner who is almost always the first person to greet customers on their way into her establishment, she would never let her suitcases gather dust for long.

"Intertwining the ability to travel with work has been fully part of this process," she says, pausing to shout "Hey" to a regular customer poking through some home decor. "I’ve had some wonderful adventures in the last 10 years; I’ve been to India, Kenya and Tanzania. Sure, I lose some sales when I close for a spell but when it comes to your health, you can’t put a price on that."

David Sanderson writes about Winnipeg-centric restaurants and businesses.

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca

David Sanderson

Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don’t hold that against him.

   Read full biography

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

History

Updated on Sunday, December 1, 2019 at 10:32 AM CST: Formats text

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top