Fashion-conscious Joyce Okunusi strictly abides by her own rule that when she brings a new piece of clothing into her home, another piece must go out. And she has 20 or more consistent clients that do the same, which is why her luxury consignment store has a continual stock of unique, contemporary fashions.

Joyce’s Closet: Luxury for the Savvy Woman, has opened at 1240 Kensington Road N.W., her first brick-and-mortar location.

Okunusi, her mother and five siblings moved to Calgary from Nigeria 27 years ago, following their father who had chosen to make this city home three years earlier. Growing up, Okunusi had a passion for nice clothes. Although her education earned her degrees in psychology and child studies from the University of Athabasca, and she worked in that field, the six-foot-tall redhead spent any spare time writing a personal fashion and lifestyle blog a decade ago.

“Tall Freckled and Fashionista” became popular, and readers began asking her where she bought her clothes, wanting to buy similar pieces. She decided to recycle her own hard-to-let-go items through her blog, and not only were they sold but readers asked if she could help them sell theirs, too. Okunusi says she almost fell into the business, which became the start of Joyce’s Closet in 2013.

Since then, the business grew with a huge following that has allowed her to consign and sell items online all over Canada and the U.S., many to buyers in fashion hot spots such as New York, California and Florida. Okunusi is a fashion writer, runs her own pop-up shops as a vendor in places including the Inglewood Night Market, a stylist whose services are needed at fashion events, and has attracted the attention of lots of local media.

Her experience gained in consigning and selling over the past dozen years means Joyce’s Closet has quickly become home to a wide range of sizes, styles and prices. It is a unique shopping experience with a curated selection of authentic, quality and style-driven pieces. The store has a wide selection of ladies’ fashions in dresses, coats, blouses and authentic bags.

Okunusi has 20 years of experience in checking bona fide brands and also has a device that proves 100 per cent authenticity of high-end luxury bags and purses. If a bag has any damage, the consignee is referred to The Get Spa, specialist in repair and restoration of luxury leather goods, before acceptance by the shop.

Joyce’s Closet also carries modern jewelry and a selection of vintage jewelry curated by Mary Lou Banks of Lulu B Designs, and rents dresses for girls from eight months to 12 years through her Kids Couture department. On return, they are dry-cleaned through a partnership with Tower Cleaners, which handles all of its dry-cleaning needs.

All this while — with a helpful husband — bringing up three small children. But her entrepreneurial spirit carries on with plans to increase her online shipments — adding to the interest already shown in the Asian market — with an expanded children’s department, men’s accessories including shoes and belts, and Okunusi is particularly interested in empowering young women of colour to feel comfortable and able to express themselves with confidence.

Notes

As an independent public relations consultant, Shawna Ogston has been a dedicated non-profit communicator with more than three decades of experience championing causes and shaping public awareness. She has played impactful roles for organizations such as the Calgary Food Bank, The Communicators, Volunteer Calgary and Theatre Calgary.

Ogston’s passion for community and fighting food insecurity has led her to accept a new role as executive director at Soup Sisters. She is committed to advancing the organization’s mission, creating a sustainable social enterprise and providing nourishing food to those in need.

Soup Sisters is a registered charitable organization dedicated to providing highly nourishing, quality, well-balanced soup meals through its signature soup-making events and its social enterprise Soup Bank.

Founded in Calgary by Sharon Hapton in 2009 as a grassroots movement to support women and children fleeing family violence and youth in crisis, in the past 15 years it has expanded to 27 cities across Canada.