Greeting Cards, Gifts, and More at this Joyful Shop
It feels impossible to miss The Village Quire when walking down Richmond Road. The vibrant pink outer walls of the store, paired with an ever-changing window display, created seasonally, is inviting and joyful. The Village Quire has been in Westboro since 2011, and current, and long-time owner, Molly van der Schee lovingly curates the shop for Westboro resident shoppers and Ottawa-area visitors.
It can be best described as a gift shop, but The Village Quire is much more, with the emphasis, and heart of the shop, still on greeting cards.
Molly lives in Westboro so she’s familiar with fellow shop owners, restaurants, and the needs of local residents. She never imagined herself as a shop owner at first, her communications degree and experience working in esthetics were different, but after all of these years, she realizes she should have done it sooner.
While there is online shopping available at The Village Quire for out-of-Westboro shoppers or those who can’t get into the brick and mortar store, most of the business continues to be in the shop itself.
Connecting with New and Returning Customers
There is a consistent customer base, with many repeat customers, as well as new shoppers from all over Ottawa and the Westboro area who discover what the store has to offer.
Over the years, Molly has seen Westboro grow and change. While some shops remain, like hers, there are constantly new businesses and buildings. These bring new clients too.
Molly loves being in her own neighbourhood for work. When she walks to work though, she can sometimes find herself getting to the store a bit later as she stops to chat with someone she knows during her commute. And she loves that; it’s those connections that matter to her as a shop owner.
“For sure I have worked hard to offer lots of unique cards and plenty of choice. But it’s community that really makes an independent shop special. I am so proud to be part of this one,” she says.
You’ll also find The Village Quire at the heart of local events. They create and participate in a variety of community activities to invite Westboro and Ottawa residents to the area.
For Gifts, Greeting Cards and More (with a Canadian focus)
She curates the store items by going to shows and events to learn about new products, with the focus being on Canadian made gifts and products, but she also doesn’t hesitate to ask where someone got an item she feels would be a great fit for the store.
In addition to the vast array of greeting cards the shop carries, you’ll find home goods, gift wrap, hostess gifts, special event and entertaining items like napkins, candles and paper plates.
Stationery lovers will adore the selection of notebooks, pens, markers, stickers and agendas. While you’ll see some trends appear, they aren’t the focus because they can be limited. The shop has items for year-round needs, with seasonal flourishes at times.
Molly shares that part of being a small business owner means adjusting expectations and that bigger isn’t always better. In the future, she hopes to extend the online presence while maintaining the store offerings and in-person experience customers have come to expect as well.
What makes The Village Quire so unique? Molly has one explanation. “The Village Quire is its own community. I just love that. Neighbours cross paths and get caught up. Friends who haven’t seen each other in years will run into each other and have the longest catch up in the shop. The shop is small and I catch snippets of conversations. Often people will say they have been coming here for years. Or this is the only place to buy their cards. It really is a special place!”
Where to Find The Village Quire
Shop online at www.villagequire.ca
Or visit in-person at 312 Richmond Road.
