Chamber of Commerce staff and members Mable Rogers, Brandi Donaldson, Nicole Beatty, bien-aimé's owner Amy Wilczynski, and Chamber of Commerce's Sheena Cooper
In May, we gave y’all the heads-up about bien-aimé, the upscale children’s consignment boutique that was opening next door to Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel at 1000 W. Main St. At the time, owner Amy Wilczynski had barely scratched the surface in stocking her store, but it was filled to the brim with kids’ clothes, shoes and accessories at the shop’s grand opening celebration yesterday.
“I haven’t had a problem at all with getting consignments,” Amy says after she gives me a brief tour. “I’ve met so many people, and they all generally seem really excited about it.”
It was that same vitality that drew Amy to Durham in the first place while her husband was completing a fellowship at Duke.
“Durham was the impetus that made us do this,” Amy says. “It was the community and the revitalization projects that made us really say, ‘Wow. I’m going to start a new business here.’ I can’t think of another city that would make me do this.”
Guests at the grand opening enjoyed cupcakes and refreshments from DaisyCakes. Bull City Craft and Mike the Balloon Man kept the kids entertained with crafts and balloon animals.
Take a look at our slideshow of the merchandise at bien-aimé, as well as Amy’s ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Chamber of Commerce.
