ESTEVAN — A new shopping destination has opened its doors in Estevan ahead of the Christmas season.
TWB Home Décor is inviting the public to its second location at 7 - 419 Kensington Avenue in Estevan.
Their first store, which features a wide variety of handcrafted Canadian pieces, opened in Emerald Park about six years ago and has experienced growth and success throughout the past years. When the time came to make the next step, the owners decided to give the Energy City a try, as they have family members in Estevan.
"I've been telling them for years to come down to Estevan, and they finally did," said Estevan's Brad Wilson, who will be overseeing the second location.
Stephanie Sokochoff, who started and co-owns TWB Home Décor store with her parents and husband, was in Estevan for Friday's grand opening.
"My parents started their company over 30 years ago, going to art and craft shows in Western Canada under the name of The Wood Boys, that's what TWB stands for," Sokochoff said. "And then six years ago, a property right down the street from our house came up for sale, so my parents bought it and we decided to open a store."
Three years later, the Emerald Park store moved into a bigger location, and then a year after that they expanded even more and now occupy about 4,000 square feet.
About 30 per cent of products TWB Home Décor sells are made by the family. They also work with many other families in Canada, and in total, about 80 per cent of everything offered through their store is handcrafted within the country.
"We focus on things that are handcrafted [in Canada]. And then we have a few other things outside of that which are handcrafted in the U.S.," Sokochoff explained.
TWB Home Décor offers items from all across Canada, from Vancouver Island to Ontario and Quebec, as well as from different communities in Saskatchewan.
The decision to extend to Estevan was made in early September; they soft-opened in early October, and the Energy City greeted the latest addition to the business community with open arms, Sokochoff said.
"Wow Estevan, thank you for your amazing support! Our first couple days were an absolute success because of you," the owners wrote on social media after the first few days of operating in Estevan.
Wilson added that they believe TWB Home Décor will be a great addition for Estevan and will provide the community with some options they haven't had before.
"Everyone's [the different stores in town] got their different styles. I think we have a completely different style … People are overwhelmed when they come in here. They love it. There's so much stuff everywhere. You can look for two hours in here," Wilson said.
"We have some customers that visit us at the Emerald Park location but it's two hours from here, so they don't get to come there as often. We definitely have a lot of people that when they're in Regina will come see us. And now we're here, so they're super excited to have us here," Sokochoff said.
Sokochoff noted their current lease is until the end of the year, and time will show what they do next.
With three employees, TWB Home Décor will be open Monday-Saturday, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday from noon-4 p.m. The hours might be expanded closer to Christmas.
