Designer Sabrina Butterfly lands in Montrose
Fashion designer Sabrina O’Donnell emerges with fresh style in new Montrose digs
Wandering through Sabrina Butterfly’s colourful new studio and shop in the Montrose area, it’s tempting to think that a marriage of whimsy and business is effortlessly achieved.
After all, the bright new space bubbles with imagination, and yet it’s spotlessly precise. There are rich panels of wallpaper, and original, local art on the walls. Stunning glass baubles gleam in the freshly scrubbed front window. Racks are hung with garments constructed right on site, many trimmed with Sabrina Butterfly’s signature large and gorgeous buttons. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right?
Not so much. As she celebrates 20 years in the fashion industry, Sabrina O’Donnell (whose middle name actually is Butterfly) is a testament to the creativity, risktaking and sheer endurance that accompanies a successful fashion brand of any description.
“It was hard,” says O’Donnell, 42, who constructed the new digs at 6007 120 Ave. over the course of a year, primarily with her own hands and those of her husband, carpenter and blown glass artist Keith Walker.
She’s talking about the build, but you could say the same thing about the construction of O’Donnell’s career, which she launched after graduating with a fashion design diploma from the University College of the Fraser Valley in 1997. Her first real job was sewing for another designer in a small shop located in the historic community Clayburn Village, built around a former brick factory in Abbotsford, B.C.
Working in a quaint, crafty, handmade environment helped shape O’Donnell’s vision, and by 1998 she had established her own line, Sabrina Butterfly Designs. Her esthetic is reflected in her new shop and studio and in her clothing, which appeals to women who love a combination of comfort and figure-flattering style, crafted from timeless and sustainable fabrics that reflect rich, earth tones.
“This feels full-circle,” reflects O’Donnell, who had a 400-squarefoot shop in Highlands for 10 years that shut its doors at the end of 2016.
The new location features 1,200 square feet of retail and sewing space (there is storage in the basement and a two-bedroom rental suite upstairs). It once held the tiny Montrose Grocery, a strip mall-style convenience store with a big Sprite sign outside that closed down years ago. O’Donnell bought the property for $260,000 and has invested that much again in the renovation.
Take a visit and you’ll be pleased to note the location gives a nice bump to this working-class neighbourhood, one that’s studded with small, wartime-era homes and distinguished by a comforting canopy of trees.
“My husband and I are two creatives and we needed an investment in us, and in our community, and in something that would help revitalize a community,” O’Donnell said.
The Montrose location does all those things. Next door to the new shop, a bakery and small restaurant is due to open before too long — another boost for the community.
O’Donnell produces “slow fashion,” in marked contrast to the lowpriced, throwaway items available in big international chains such as H&M or Zara.
With a staff of four people, she produces about 20 garments a week.
“They are designs that withstand a period of time and make women feel good at various ages and stages of their lives,” she said. “Their bodies have changed and yet they still feel great in them.”
That’s in part because the designs feature a slimming, wide panel and high waist in the front of the pants and skirts with three buttons up the side. The design keeps everything tucked in nicely, eliminating the muffin top.
Tops and bottoms come in a wide variety of fabrics and colours — customers often find a favourite item and buy it in several different fabrics, wearing the garment in any season with a layer or wrap for warmth when required. A pair of wide-leg linen pants sells for $165, and there is a bamboo top for $85. The A-line skirts start at about $110.
The new location oozes charm and smells deliciously like a baby, in part due to a fragrant line of handmade Kama soaps from Saltspring Island that O’Donnell carries in the shop.
There’s a big selection of bright, cosy socks and slippers, plus greeting cards and artisanal jewelry that has become a favourite of celebrity customer Premier Rachel Notley (who also wears Sabrina Butterfly clothes). Walker’s glass designs, lush swirls of colour, are prominently displayed in the shop, and would be just the thing for showing off a hand-crafted cocktail.
I love beautiful things, and just stepping into the new store feels like a break from all that’s dull and grey. O’Donnell built a good part of her business (which she describes as “meaningful” fashion) through booths at festivals and craft fairs, and a browse through the racks is accompanied by an exciting sense of discovery.
If you want to sample the wares, you can pop by the shop Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sabrina Butterfly will have a booth at the Indie Handmade Craft Show at the Enjoy Centre (101 Riel Dr., St. Albert) from Nov. 15 to 17. If you can wait until December, O’Donnell has her annual 12 Day of Christmas celebration.
It runs from Dec. 13-24 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays) and features a pop-up with local designers and daily in-store specials.
They are designs that withstand a period of time and make women feel good at various ages and stages of their lives. Their bodies have changed and yet they still feel great in them.”
SABRINA O’DONNELL, owner-designer at Sabrina Butterfly