The Yellow Door Boutique
BY: BG EDITOR
Oct 22, 2016 — GREENWOOD, BC (BG)
The Yellow Door Boutique is one of the most recognizable storefronts on Greenwood's Copper Street. The cozy shop is filled with an eclectic range of clothing and accessories, and owner
Heather Smith makes fashion approachable for everyone. Shoppers will find an enticing array of pieces in the season's colours: soft bamboo, Victorian inspired blouses and casual yoga-wear share the racks with unique designer pieces that are 'a little country… a little rock & roll'.
Heather Smith has operated the Yellow Door for the last seven years, first opening one door down on Copper Street, then moving to the current location in 2010. 249 South Copper is one of Greenwood's historic buildings, originally known as 'Small City Foods'. It was built in 1913 by Thomas Thomas, changing hands several times. In 1948 it was purchased by Shotaro Nakamura, and later by Johnny and Miyoko Ikari, who ran Johnny's Market there. Down the 103-year old breezeway, the old meat locker is still in place.
Heather and her husband Dennis Radford have lived in Greenwood since 2007. Having moved to the Boundary from Kelowna, Heather worked at The Spot in Midway, running the deli before making the move to Greenwood, and going back to her roots in the fashion industry. And for Heather, those roots run deep.
Growing up in the Lower Mainland, Heather got an early start in fashion, becoming active in the high school drama program. She got heavily involved in art, and took up welding on the side. Heather began to work with Vancouver area theater groups, singing and dancing in amateur productions, and this catapulted her towards the fashion industry. The allure of costume fabrics and stage set materials, along with the guidance of many wonderful mentors, cemented her love of fashion art.
After a few years working in her father's business, and later in floral design in Victoria, Heather eventually returned to the mainland and joined the modeling industry. Working through agencies, she had the opportunity to model for some of the big fashion houses, like Hudson's Bay and Woodwards. Print media was huge then, before the advent of the Internet, and Vancouver was a hub for fashion ad agencies. If you were fortunate to be an Eaton girl, or a Bay girl, it meant you'd likely get to do a few fashion shows each year, and Heather enjoyed the runway.
As described on her website, YellowDoorBoutique.com, "We're pretty sure that Heather started her life with a sewing machine and thread. As long as she can remember, she's had a huge passion for designing and creating trendy fashions for women. As a result, she began taking classes on design and creation before she even graduated high school. She worked as a model for one of the larger agencies in Vancouver BC, travelling across Canada and abroad. This is where she really got the feeling that she had an eye for beautiful and unique designs."
Taking a hiatus from the high stress modeling industry, Heather travelled to Edmonton to visit friends, and ended up staying there for ten years. Finding herself again drawn to the fashion world, she got back into modeling, produced fashion shows, and taught. She then took a fashion merchandising and design course, and opened her own business manufacturing handcrafted jewelry.
After 13 years, Heather settled into starting a family. With fashion always in mind, she decided she didn't want to have to stuff her daughter into a puffy snowsuit through the long Edmonton winters, and instead moved back to Vancouver. Re-establishing her business there, she found the pressures of balancing professional and family life more challenging, and relocated to Kelowna, where her parents were living. Returning to her jewelry business, she also commuted to Penticton to work with home decor and accessories, and designed hats and clothing for The Twiggery.
As her daughter grew up, Heather decided to buy a sewing business. She had been actively sewing throughout her early career. As a seamstress and tailor, she did custom bridalware and sub-contracted with a dry cleaning chain, doing tailoring and alternations.
She eventually went back to school, taking carpentry and joinery, and began to build custom store interiors and shelving displays, creating many pop-up stores that were built and merchandised over a short span of days.
Amidst what has been an amazingly diverse and artistic career, Heather found time to take a break and socialize, joining a ballroom dancing class in Kelowna. There she met her partner, soon to be husband, Dennis, and they've been dancing through life ever since. The two were married in 2009, in Las Vegas, at the Little White Chapel drive-through. (Elvis was not available to officiate.)
Heather and Dennis bought their house in Greenwood two years before actually moving here. Taking a year off to recover from a serious back injury, Heather spent her time absorbed in artwork. A very talented painter and drawer, her portraiture work is beautiful.
Then, while on holiday in Arizona, Heather discovered a small but wonderful boutique that had been forced to close due to the recession. The shop was crammed with high end fashion and gorgeous displays, which Heather bought en masse, using the inventory to start the Yellow Door Boutique. At first accepting local consignments and buying auction lots, Heather quickly returned to the L.A. fashion market to source new inventory for her store. With Dennis assisting, the two began regular buying trips, and the Greenwood store continued to evolve with the arrival of new fashions.
Today, Heather staggers her buying trips to Los Angeles with occasional trips to Vancouver, where some of the Toronto suppliers also bring new fashions. This keeps her in touch with many innovative, creative artists doing fabric work. Vancouver is also well known as a 'small batch' art fashion center.
Heather also does a lot of specialty catalog shopping, looking for beautiful and unusual items for the store. She explains that "boutique" means 'different' — a boutique can be whatever you envision, outside of the mainstream. And at the Yellow Door, you'll find things you won't find anywhere else. Visitors are greeted by collections that, although eclectic, always seem to fit together perfectly. Expert at merchandising, Heather keeps the small space filled with an array of styles, which never feel jumbled. Shopping there is easy, and delightful.
The Yellow Door takes its fashion out on the road to occasional festivals and fairs in the region. Heather enjoys a helping hand from Dennis, who assists with transport, set-up and sales.
Most recently, Heather has partner with Lorna MacDougall in opening a twin store in Grand Forks, called Fashion & Flowers. A long-time resident of Grand Forks, Lorna also owns the Avalon Gardens nursery. The new store, located at 258 Market Avenue, had its grand opening on October 7th. Along with Yellow Door fashions, the new shop offers interior decor, beautiful items for home and garden, fabrics, bath and beauty accessories.
Open 7 days a week from June to mid-August, the Yellow Door traditionally opens an off-season location somewhere in the east Boundary. With dedicated customers from the Kootenays to Nelson, they keep shorter hours at the Greenwood store. This Fall/Winter season, the Yellow Door will be open most weekends in Greenwood. Meanwhile, Greenwood will benefit from a 'culture exchange' with the Grand Forks store, as some of Fashion & Flowers' lovely home decor will now be available at Yellow Door.
Heather not only brings a depth of talent and passion to her work, which shines through all the fashionable finds at the Yellow Door, she also lights it up with her a warm and welcoming mood. What she enjoys most about her business are all the wonderful people who come through her door each day. But it's not always people who step through the Yellow Door…
One of the boutique's funniest moments was the day a chipmunk came to shop. Two girls in a group of friends walked past the store in the summer, giggling and pointing. "What's so funny?", Heather asked. "There's a chipmunk right beside your feet!" All seven visitors came inside, and proceeded to spend the next hour and a half trying to catch that chipmunk. They erected cardboard barriers… everyone had a role to play. It was just wild! The little chipmunk could move so fast from one room to the other it was amazing, and hilarious. People walking by the store that day heard wild screaming and laughter. Finally, the little fella ran out of Heather's door and streaked crossed the highway. As everyone yelled "Nooooooo!!" from the Yellow Door, across the street it seemed the chipmunk now had some banking to do…
Always open to the new day's adventures, whatever they may be, Heather says she is so thankful for the many gifts received: "I never see it coming… it just amazes me how I get far more than I ever give here. I've made some wonderful friends at the Yellow Door, and I've never had a day when I didn't want to go to work. The Greenwood community has been very good to me."
And Heather returns it, in great style. She is well known as one of the city's most enthusiastic (and best dressed) ambassadors, always finding time to introduce Greenwood to newcomers, and pointing out the many other interesting stops they should make before driving on.
In our small city, Heather Smith and the Yellow Door stand tall among the main attractions.
The Yellow Door Boutique
249 South Copper Street
Greenwood, BC
(250) 443-5461
