At the beginning of April, Beauleigh and Manulife Place announced a competition that would showcase the best of Edmonton’s independent operators and entrepreneurial scene, offering 2 retailers the chance to win rent-free Pop-Up Space at Manulife Place for 4 Months.
Since then, we have received an overwhelming amount of incredible applications and, although we are not surprised by the talent and vision of Edmontonians, we were pleasantly surprised by the wide range of unique concepts and ideas that flourish in the City of Edmonton. To everyone that applied, a big thank you! We wish you all nothing but the best in the future.
With much anticipation, we are so pleased to announce our 2 Winners of the Manulife Place Pop-Up Competition: Nitro Snow and Gypsy Soul!
ABOUT THE WINNERS:
NITRO SNOW
In 2016 Ryan Willisko acquired the exclusive rights for Nitro Snow North America and has brought the concept back to his hometown of Edmonton. Nitro Snow is the only Edmonton based winter sports brand in Alberta, featuring high-quality technical snowboarding apparel, equipment and accessories for Kids, Teens, Men and Women. Ryan’s goal with Nitro Snow at Manulife Place is to create a strong foundation for snowboarding, while at the same time promoting and incorporating art and fashion in the community. 10% of all of Nitro Snow’s sales at the Manulife Place Pop-Up will be given directly back to Edmontonians in need via Technical Outerwear.
GYPSY SOUL
Brandi Dea and Chelsea McKinley, both born and raised in Edmonton, started their journey on a trip to India in 2012, that inspired them to design their first label, Gypsy Soul. Since then, Gypsy Soul has taken off, being picked up by retailers such as Urban Outfitters, Shop Bop, ASOS and more. Gypsy Soul is predominately an online retailer, with one brick and mortar location in Kelowna, BC., that features Women’s apparel, accessories and swimwear. Gypsy Soul style includes bohemian travel-wear that encompasses their mantra ‘Always Go’.
Nitro Snow and Gypsy Soul’s Pop-Up Space will open on September 1st, 2018. See you all there!
