SALT LAKE CITY — Inside one of the shops in the 9th and 9th neighborhood, light music plays amidst the clothes, candles, jewelry, and other items.
Behind the counter or in the racks is Helen Wade, one of the owners. Sometimes, she’s accompanied by her daughter, who also works at the store.
Wade’s store is called The Stockist, which she founded with her brother. “I hope they [customers] feel welcome here and this is a place where they can just hang out and say hi,” she said. “We built such a family and community with this store.”
They opened the shop in 2009 as a way to provide people with a space for affordable everyday wear. That includes clothes that are timeless and something people can wear all day long for different occasions.
“I do a lot of things outside of the shop,” she said. “I ride horses, I go snowboarding we go hiking, we run, we camp. And everything — except maybe the dresses — I’m going to wear doing that. It’s clothing to get you through every day."
They work with local artists, jewelry makers, and candle makers, but they also work with some international clothing brands too.
She said it’s important for people to change their mindset and think of supporting local stores first before going to a chain. A great way to do that is coming out for Small Business Saturday, she said. “It’s a great way to kick off the holidays and support this neighborhood and other small business neighborhoods in Salt Lake,” she said. “We just want to be able to give back and supporting local just allows for the dollar to stay in the local community.”
She said small businesses like hers feel the impact of rising costs and tariffs. “It’s hard,” she said. “We don’t get those major discounts like the big box stores get. We still have to pay all those tariffs and be conservative on our buys.”
Throughout the weekend, Wade said they are doing a 20% off promotion for the items in the store. They’re also hosting their own food drive for the Utah Food Bank through December 4th, which means people can come donate food as they shop.
