Startup steps up to support charity

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This article was published 08/02/2019 (2402 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two local entrepreneurs are setting an example for community service by wearing their heart on their sleeve.

Jordan Blair and Rachel Solomon are the co-owners of So Over It Luxury Consignment, an online and brick-and-mortar shop specializing in high-end designer and vintage fashion consignment.

The startup business is hosting its first annual charity event in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation on Feb. 14. Hearts & Highballs happens at OV Club (2-108 Osborne St.) on Valentine’s Day, Blair said, with all proceeds from the event benefiting the charity.

Blair, 28, said volunteerism and philanthropy have always been a part of her life, and when she launched So Over It with Solomon in December 2017, she hoped to extend those values into her work.

“Having a business really opens doors to be able to do everything that you want to be able to feel like part of the community,” Blair told The Sou’wester at So Over It’s Corydon Avenue studio.

About 36 local businesses have provided prizes for the event, and support for the fundraising initiative has been overwhelming, Blair said.

“Once presented, our generation is more than happy and really excited about it, but it’s giving people a platform to get involved,” she said.

Hosting an event to benefit the community is a good fit for the two fashionistas. So Over It was struck with the purpose of making high-end fashion from designers like Christian Louboutin and Gucci more attainable by reselling second-hand luxury items. Consignors get a fair commission for their investment piece, shoppers are able to find items that will add to their wardrobe for years, and the resource intensive cycle of fast-fashion gets disrupted, Blair said.

“Our whole mantra is sustainability, and recycling, and repurposing high quality pieces,” Blair said. “Not everyone can afford luxury pieces, so we’re here to make them a little more accessible to all.”

In their first year of business, Blair said the duo have found an untapped market in Winnipeg, and their online store is servicing clients in remote and isolated communities. With a steady core of 100 consignors and hundreds more clients, Blair said she’s been surprised by the response to So Over It and predicts their market to increase across Canada in 2019.

“Winnipeg is such a unique market because these brands are not accessible here. We don’t have a Nordstrom where you can walk in and buy a Louis Vuitton bag. Our pieces sell so quickly because they’re not accessible, that now we get shipped items from all over Canada,” Blair said.

Her primary client lives in Winnipeg and is between 25 and 75 years old, Blair said. So Over It is even reaching customers as far as Yukon and Prince George.

Part of the success the store has experienced in its first year — enough for the pair to be putting in full time hours — is attributed the pricing schedule they use, personalized shopping and consignment experience, and item authentication process, Blair said.

“People were taking their pieces that they’ve invested money into and they’re going to second-hand stores to sell them and they weren’t making any money off of them,” she said. “Someone would rather ship from Toronto to here, than consign at one of 15 shops in Toronto, because it’ll sell so much quicker.

“We’ve come up with a system that really benefits everyone. It’s been a year but we think people are happy,” Blair said.

For more information about the Hearts & Highballs event go to sooveritshop.com

Tickets are $10 in advance.