Shop Local Featured Business:
Bânu Magnifique
This holiday season, I say it’s time to reconsider the pleasures of shopping locally.
Sure, Amazon offers fast and convenient products at the click of a button, but really, what’s the fun in that? There is so much joy that comes with shopping small and discovering a local brand, and the time has come to get reacquainted with this small shopping pleasure.
That’s why I chatted with Salma Kashani, the founder of recently launched Canadian fashion brand, Bânu Magnifique, to get her take on the true meaning of shopping small.
Born out of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bânu Magnifique offers womenswear inspired by original artwork made by artists. Kashani is also passionate about supporting her community and is an advocate for shopping small.
Read on to rediscover the true pleasures of shopping local and to make your next purchase more meaningful!
"One of the pleasures of shopping locally is that you are buying meaning and the stories behind the proprietor."
There's a Story to Discover
With every small local shop and business, there is an inspiring story and what excites Kashani the most about shopping locally is definitely discovering those stories. “It’s not easy to start a business and when someone does, it’s because they believe they have something unique to share, it’s because a personal need or a problem inspired the solution they came up with and now they are striving to share their solutions with others to improve their quality of life,” Kashani explained.
For Kashani, her story began one gloomy morning amid the Covid-19 pandemic. She decided to distract herself by starting to paint and quickly felt overjoyed with the amount of colour and art she was able to add to her life. Next, Bânu Magnifique was born.
There's Inspiration in Every Item
The Vancouver-based artist equally loves to discover the inspiration behind specific items and collections. Each piece in her collection has an original story, which she says adds meaning to the purchase.
Her first collection, which launched earlier this fall, was designed from a photo of a primrose flower and was inspired by the photographer’s journey as an artist. “I was feeling very nostalgic and that’s when I saw a primrose flower, which reminded me of my young love and its everlasting existence in my heart. I wanted to capture that moment and remember its magical feeling.”
Based on the artist’s story, the Primrose Collection was designed by Kashani to lift your spirits, to remind you of happy moments, and to allow you to fall in love all over again. This time, with yourself.
There are Real People Behind the Brand
Finally, there is so much joy to be found in discovering the people behind a brand. When you buy from a local brand, the story continues and even grows! You become part of this individual's story and even connected.
“These are passionate and gutsy people who put themselves out there, they risk failing and getting rejected, they destroy roadblocks and sweat to make their dreams a reality,” Kashani explained.
We at Shop-local Canada applaud Kashani and hope that you will visit her website and purchase some of her beautiful products. You can find her site at this address: https://banumagnifique.com/
Thanks for reading, Katie
Shop > British Columbia > Vancouver
- Posted On: December 8th, 2020
 | Katie... Hi, I'm one of the people who make's Shop-Local Canada tick. I'm a contributor, researcher, editor and a support person. Let me know if I can help. |
