For this True North Tale I had a chat with Vicki the owner of For Women Only. And For Men Only Vicki’s been a northern business owner for two decades and the start offer chat. She told me how she got started in the business and the starting point of For Men Only
I had finished one job and I was I had a couple of very good friends who were running langlaws and another friend who also was in between jobs and wanted to open a men’s store. So we just decided to do that, as one of the mentors in town was closing. So we open up
For Men Only
One of Vicki’s favorite parts about owning For Men Only is getting to help the young men of the end wt pick out their graduation suits.
We do all the tuxedos and suiting and stuff for grads in Yellowknife and all the communities and so I mean it’s just really touching to speak with grads, young men, you know who are like going to the change room as a boy almost. And then they come out in a suit and it’s like they become young men. And it’s really gratifying and lovely. It’s very satisfying to help people who are in the communities who want to have you know, really great grad experience including a suit or a tuxedo, and that we’re able to help them with that
So she can have more free time. Vicki recently made the decision to go down from two stores to one and is currently looking for a new owner For Men Only. With the new free time, she’ll have coming up Vicki’s hoping to focus more on her art. Here’s Vicki talking about some of the latest projects she’s worked on with her friend and neighbor dot,
I tried to do lots of different things. But lately, it’s been mostly been mosaic artwork with my neighbor and friend Dot, we did a mural in Old Town in the old Canadian airways building. There’s a mosaic down there. And then we just recently did a commission for Blachford Lake Lodge and we did all the backsplashes in their bathrooms.
And to end offer chat Vicki talks about an aspect of being a business owner that she’s been missing since the pandemic started and she can’t wait to get back to doing it and what her future plans are at For Women Only
I’d like to get back down to a market like I haven’t been able to, I’ve had to do all my ordering and buying online which thankfully I’ve got 20 years plus experience buying. So I’ve been able to do that. But I’d really like to get down to a market to see what all the other stores are doing that kind of thing. Like I think I’ve missed that part too, is just walking into other stores down sells going, what are they doing and what can I do better and those kinds of things. So I find that that part of the learning process for me every year has certainly been stalled, like for everybody else. And then I mean I don’t plan to expand or anything to the women’s store I really like the size of it certainly plan to be at the women’s store for a long, long time. Now.
-Vicki Tompkins, Northern Business Owner
