Two local entrepreneurs are hoping to add a little style to the local fashion scene.
Royal City residents Kait DeWolff and Jennifer Pistor have once again joined forces to offer West + Wind, a new online boutique featuring a collection of short- and long-sleeved T-shirts for men, women and children, as well as jewelry and prints for the home. DeWolff is a web and graphic designer who runs KaitCreative, while Pistor works in social media and writes the Prairie Girl in the City blog.
“We had worked on a couple of other projects together. We seem like a very complimentary fit. It’s been awesome,” Pistor said. “I have the retail and blogging background, and she has the artist and graphic design background.”
Pistor, who has been wanting to do something along the lines of West + Wind for quite some time, had an “aha moment” at a women’s conference and thought it was something she should work on with DeWolff. Since June, they’ve been hard at work sourcing T-shirts, jewelry and other items for the boutique and working on designs and artwork for the prints and T-shirt collection.
“Our little tagline is, live your life in West + Wind. That’s really what we want,” Pistor said. “T-shirts are such a wardrobe staple. Everybody has a drawer full of T-shirts these days. We wanted it to be some-thing that people could dress up with a sparkly little necklace or a cute skirt for the Christmas season, or they could also wear it for brunch on the weekend or hanging out on the couch watching a movie. It’s really for people just to be comfortable. It still has a little more personality than just your basic T-shirt – because we are putting a little stamp of our own on this.”
While West + Wind is mainly women focused, there are also a couple things for the fellas and kids. The online boutique is up and running, but the ladies are also taking the collection out to a couple of upcoming events.
The Holla Daze Sip & Shop is taking place at the Sixth Street Popup and Gallery at 42 Sixth St. on Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday, Nov. 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Several other vendors are also attending the event in space operated by the owners of Brick & Mortar Living.
Old Crow Coffee on Front Street will be serving up coffee, while shoppers shop at the Holla Daze Sip & Shop. Along with West+ Wind, companies selling items such as knitwear, candles, soaps and lotions will be in attendance.
“It’s all the yummy things that we would want to buy for ourselves,” Pistor said.
West + Wind will also be at New West Craft’s pop-up market on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. The event, sponsored by the Arts Council of New Westminster, is free and features live music. Steel & Oak Brewing and Pacific Breeze Winery will be on site.
For more information, visit www.westandwind.com.
