Flourish and Bask is 2 years old!

• Posted on 21 October 2023
• By Chantal Ingram
• 0

I am filled with gratitude as I reflect on the past two years. Time has flown by, and I am so appreciative of all the support you have given me. In fact, it’s been almost five years since I truly started this journey to open Flourish and Bask.

I want you to know how much your support means to me.

It’s been a dream of mine to open my own shop since I worked in Downtown Oakville in the 1990’s. Marriage, life, kids, and a career in the Halton non-profit world pushed that dream aside, and it wasn’t until 2019 that I took the leap of faith, during a pandemic, to create this business.

This isn’t one of those “CEO with 6 figure salary retires to dabble in retail” stories. In fact, quite the opposite. I was let go from my job in 2019 ten months before my 50^th birthday. I was a middle-aged woman who still didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up and spent a few months lost at sea, trying to chart a course.

Flourish and Bask is the blood sweat and tears of not just me, but my husband who painted every piece of furniture in the store, and has moved and lugged, been a cheerleader, and a sounding board. We’re taking a chance on this venture every step of the way.  

Why do I share this?

Because being vulnerable and honest is what I do, and as my customers, you should know that you are supporting a real person, and her family.

I do not believe that bricks and mortar retail is dying, in fact, now more than ever I think we crave connection and the experience of shopping in-person.  We long for the excellent service provided in small businesses. We want to support our local economies and keep our downtowns thriving.

I feel incredibly lucky to have the best customers shopping here every day. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Cheers,

Chantal