Brabary Gives Back to the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie

 It’s our 10^th anniversary! To celebrate our awesome customers, for every item purchased during the month of April, Brabary will be donating a new item to the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie. It’s our One for One program, which we’re sharing about on social media using the hashtag #brabarygivesback.

This is about women helping women. Women have been the main cause of our success. We’re not only celebrating 10 years of operating a business; we’re celebrating 10 years of working with women of all stages and all ages, and with every body type. We've shared your laughter and your tears, and you ours.

Women may enter our store not feeling very good about themselves. We see them slumped over, with their shoulders forward, trying to hide their bodies. With a professional bra fitting and the right bra, we’ve seen those same women transformed with visible confidence, now standing tall!

Women at the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie may face much different challenges, including violence, marginalization and poverty. We want to do our part to give these women the strength and support to transform their lives.

Our customers inspire us every day. We want to pass on that inspiration to these women, and do our little part to help.

We are grateful for each and every person who has come through our door. Of course that includes our male customers and those who love them. For every pair of men’s SAXX underwear sold in April, we will donate a pair of women’s underwear to the shelter.

About the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie

Founded in 1981, The Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie has been providing shelter and support services to abused women and their children for 30 years. Their mission is to provide a safe refuge and emergency support services for abused women and their children in a commitment to end the cycle of violence.

Visit their website or Facebook page to learn more.

Follow the progress of our #brabarygivesback challenge on Facebook and Twitter.

We’re 10 years old in April!

We’ve seen many changes over these 10 years, including a move seven years ago. We’ve always been thrilled with our current location, with its ample free parking and fantastic neighbours.

Recently we did some renovations to address comments and requests from customers. They liked the size of the store and the amount of stock we can provide, but they (and we) wanted a more intimate setting. One of the things we did was change the lighting to be more welcoming and calming. You can read more of our renovation story in this earlier post.

Our industry has grown and changed a lot over these 10 years, with innovations in technology, research and development by our manufacturers. When we started, a molded cup bra never went above a D cup; now we can get up to an H cup. Even seamless, non-molded bras now go up to a well-fitting G cup. You can even get a really good fitting G or H cup in a strapless bra. It’s tremendous how far they’ve come.

As the industry has changed in what it offers, we’ve expanded our inventory as well. We wanted to get our feet firmly planted before expanding into swimwear and hosiery, and especially before starting to help women with prosthetics, from pre-surgery considerations to getting fitted for prostheses.

In talking to clients about what they wanted in bras and hosiery, we brought in great luxurious Italian brands like Trasparenze and the simple elegance of Phillipe Matignon. This range of mid- to high-end products is unique in Barrie.

Quality is important to us; we don’t do anything halfway. As we’ve expanded our product lines, we’ve taken our time to research the products we feel would be good for our clientele. We continue to listen to our customers and bring in products based on their needs.

This commitment to customer service has been recognized by our community as well. We are honoured to be the recipients of the Bell Business Retail Excellence Award from Barrie Chamber of Commerce in 2008, and the Businesswoman of the Year from Barrie Examiner in 2013.

We support our community in numerous ways, by dedicating time to several charities, as well as donating resources for fundraising. Some of these are listed on our Community page, and others we’ve written about on the blog, like the Barrie Toy Tea, 100 Who Care, and the NSMHPCM Palliative Care Conference.

Our caring staff has grown with us - always eager to learn about new products and finding the perfect fit for you.

Thank you for joining us for this trip down memory lane, and thank you for your continued support. We look forward to the next 10 years with you!

The Barrie Toy Tea

November 19, 2014 was the 9^th annual Barrie Toy Tea, an annual fundraiser for the Children’s Aid Society and Gilda’s Club. The admission fee was an unwrapped toy or a cash donation, and there were refreshments and raffle prizes – all donated from the community.

A highlight of the event is always the fashion show, and Brabary was proud to be involved, along with Red Tulip, Janet Kemp, John McNabb and other excellent local merchants.

It’s always fun finding models for our lingerie and swim suits, as well as our male models who escort the ladies down the runway.

Angela Baldwin and Caroline Harrison coordinate the fashion show, and always bring a team of kids from the Kempenfelt Bay School to help out.

Congratulations to the organizers for another successful event, and especially to the two charities – The Children’s Aid Society of Simcoe County and Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka. Thank you for all the wonderful work that you do in our community! The Brabary gang are excited to participate again in next year's event!

Winter 2014 Palliative Care Conference

The annual winter conference of the North Simcoe Muskoka Hospice Palliative Care Network (NSMHPCN) is coming up on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at the Grandview Golf Club in Huntsville. The theme is “Consent, Capacity & Compassion Fatigue.”

I’ll be there as an exhibitor in my role as the owner of Brabary, but I’ll also be there as a participant. I always find the sessions incredibly informative and helpful, and the tools I learn there I can relate back to all areas of my life and business.

I first started attending back when I met someone who was involved in putting on the conference. Her mother was in town and needed a prosthesis, so they found their way to us at Brabary. She suggested we get involved with the conference, since so many health care professionals aren’t aware of the options for their patients – and other people in their lives who may need prostheses.

This upcoming event got me thinking about all the different resources that are out there for people who are going through a cancer journey, such as Gilda’s Club (emotional and social support), Canadian Cancer Society (rides to treatment and lots of information), or retail stores like ours that provide products and personalized fittings and support.

Click here for a registration form for the conference.

Things to do on Valentine’s Day

This year in Ontario, Valentine’s Day falls on the same weekend as Family Day. This is a wonderful opportunity to plan activities with people you love – whether a romantic partner, your children, extended family, or good friends.

Look beyond the typical dinner and movie and consider meaningful activities that everyone will enjoy. Consider adding some physical activity like ice skating, snowshoeing, or just a brisk winter’s walk to give everyone a chance to keep up with your healthy resolutions for the New Year. Check out the skating track at Arrowhead Park, just north of Huntsville. Or go for a lovely snowshoe in the Copeland Forest, off Highway 400 extension. There’s so much to do in our beautiful part of the world and what a perfect way to show love to yourself and others!

You can also extend that loving spirit to think about how you can help those in need and improve things in your community. Volunteeringwith your kids can be a bonding experience for the whole family that’s full of rich life lessons.

In this month of romance, why not think about how you can bring more love into all of your relationships?