After nearly four decades, CloverdaleB次元官网网址檚 costume rental shop Ye Olde Piggy Bank will soon shut its doors.
For co-owners Freda Mattern, 75, and Joanne Thompson, 72, B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 time.B次元官网网址�
If someone came in today and offered to buy the whole storeB次元官网网址檚 stock, theyB次元官网网址檇 be gone tomorrow, said Freda Mattern.
Their building has recently come under new ownership, she explained, and a rent increase has given them the extra push into retirement.
B次元官网网址淏oth me and my partner are in our 70s, and with the rent increase, itB次元官网网址檚 time,B次元官网网址� she said.
Mattern said she hadnB次元官网网址檛 been thinking of retirement, but she knows she B次元官网网址渉as lots to do.B次元官网网址� She may teach sewing after the store closes. She is well-qualified B次元官网网址� she has taken courses in dressmaking, designing, millinery, pattern making, draping and more B次元官网网址� and over the years, she has created a good deal of the costumes that Ye Olde Piggy Bank has to offer.
Ye Olde Piggy Bank started out in 1982 as a crafts, antiques and collectibles store. When several other craft stores opened in Cloverdale, Mattern, a costume maker of many years, proposed they switch their focus to renting costumes.
B次元官网网址淚t was a slow process. We still had antiques and collectibles, it was just a transition from one to the other,B次元官网网址� she said.
Ye Olde Piggy Bank is named for the buildingB次元官网网址檚 origins. When it was constructed in 1912, it was the first bank in Surrey, the Bank of Montreal. It hasnB次元官网网址檛 been a bank since 1958, but certain reminders remain, such as the bank vault, which is now used as storage.
There are certain challenges to running a costume rental shop, of course. One needs to have what is popular and in demand, and in the needed sizes. Over the decades, Ye Olde Piggy Bank has amassed a huge variety of handmade costumes and vintage clothing.
B次元官网网址淵ou name it, weB次元官网网址檝e rented out for it,B次元官网网址� said Mattern.
B次元官网网址淥ne fellow rented a knight costume and he also went out to rent a horse and he proposed to his girlfriend. That was cute. That was nice.B次元官网网址�
The most popular costumes, she said, are from the Roaring Twenties or B次元官网网址渨hat they call Great Gatsby now,B次元官网网址� medieval costumes, and period clothing from the 1950s.
B次元官网网址淲e have a lot of retro clothing all throughout the different eras,B次元官网网址� Mattern said. B次元官网网址淲e have clothing right from the 1920s.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e also have a big black bear [costume] that people have rented to jump out of the bushes and scare their friends camping. ItB次元官网网址檚 very lifelike,B次元官网网址� she said, laughing.
Ye Olde Piggy Bank is currently selling its costumes, rather than renting them. As for a closing date? Mattern said, B次元官网网址淎s soon as we can.B次元官网网址�
What sheB次元官网网址檒l miss most, she said, is Cloverdale itself.
Mattern has long been involved in the Cloverdale business community, not only as a business owner, but as a representative of the Business Improvement Association (BIA). She is a founding member of the Cloverdale BIA, and has served on the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce as well.
She is currently a BIA board member, and she said she hopes to find a way to continue to be involved in the business community after Ye Olde Piggy Bank closes.
One of the best things about being in business in Cloverdale for so long was seeing the community improve B次元官网网址渃onstantlyB次元官网网址� and being a part of that change, she said.
B次元官网网址淚t wasnB次元官网网址檛 much in the beginning, but it sure is now,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎t one time Cloverdale was a rodeo parade. You had that one three-day weekend where everybody came to Cloverdale and then left to go to the fairgrounds.B次元官网网址�
Now, she said, a point of pride is the variety of events that take place throughout the town centre, all through the year.
Ye Olde Piggy Bank is located on downtown CloverdaleB次元官网网址檚 main street, at 5683 176 Street.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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