- Words by Angela Cowan Photography by Lia Crowe
When Rebecca Burrows purchased VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 long-time favourite store, , in 2018, it realized a dream sheB次元官网网址檇 carried since she was five years old.
B次元官网网址淚 just had this obsession with fashion and jewellery,B次元官网网址� she says, remembering a day in kindergarten where all the kids were asked to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up. B次元官网网址淭here are people drawing doctors and firemen and everything, and I just drew a big ring,B次元官网网址� she laughs. B次元官网网址淚 had this obsession with Audrey Hepburn and Breakfast at TiffanyB次元官网网址檚, and I wanted to work at TiffanyB次元官网网址檚.B次元官网网址�
While she didnB次元官网网址檛 make it to New York in her teens, Rebecca did work for a jewellery designer in Winnipeg who sold many pieces to Hughes Clothing. And when Rebecca and her parents moved out to the island, she popped into the shop with her resume. Then-owner Donna Anderson hired her almost immediately, and Rebecca worked there for more than a decade before stepping back to raise her family. But she didnB次元官网网址檛 stay out of the game for long.
B次元官网网址淏usiness has always been a part of my life,B次元官网网址� she says, adding that sheB次元官网网址檇 always wanted to step into the owner/entrepreneurial role. B次元官网网址淏ut Donna was just not ready to retire at that time.B次元官网网址�
Rebecca ended up buying both the Bleue Coyote Pub in Brentwood and the Rod and Gun Bar and Grill in Parksville (although she has since sold them), while staying closely connected with Hughes. And when the opportunity came to take the reins from Donna, Rebecca knew it was absolutely meant to be. Just two years later in 2020, she helmed the shopB次元官网网址檚 move from downtown Victoria to Athlone Court in Oak Bay with enormous success. And now, business is steady, foot traffic is abundant and her customers are thrilled, echoing the joy Rebecca has found in her own life.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been in times of my lifeB次元官网网址攜earsB次元官网网址攚here it just felt like I was a salmon swimming upstream, and not doing what was making me happy, and not realizing it,B次元官网网址� she says.
Now, surrounded by family and friends, a career that she loves, heartfelt relationships with her clients and a new Uptown location that just opened at the end of March, Rebecca is immensely grateful every day for where life has brought her.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 completely come to fruition for me. IB次元官网网址檓 doing exactly what IB次元官网网址檓 meant to do,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 am so comfortable in my own skin, and IB次元官网网址檓 just loving my life. With business I always think about my dad. HeB次元官网网址檚 been my driving force. He tells me all the time, B次元官网网址榊ou can do anything you want to do.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Thinking back to those kindergarten goals, Rebecca laughs.
B次元官网网址淚 definitely think the little Rebecca is beaming on the inside,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 happy.B次元官网网址�
The 7 Sins
Envy:
Whose shoes would you like to walk in?
Audrey Hepburn. I dreamed of being her when I was a child. In her role in Breakfast at TiffanyB次元官网网址檚, she exuded style and grace like no other. I remember walking around my house all dressed in black pretending I was in New York City.
Gluttony:
What is the food you could eat over and over again?
Pasta. I love pasta. I swear I should be Italian. Nothing fancy though. Spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and all the parmigiano.
Greed:
YouB次元官网网址檙e given $1 million that you have to spend selfishly. What would you spend it on?
Selfishly, I would move my parents closer. Mind you, they only live in Sidney and weB次元官网网址檙e in Oak Bay, but now with four stores and always expanding, I would love to have them next door to me. IB次元官网网址檓 such a daddyB次元官网网址檚 girl. I truly have everything I could ever wantB次元官网网址攑urses, clothes, cars, jewelleryB次元官网网址攂ut having daddy next door, that would take the cake.
Wrath:
Pet peeves?
People who say they B次元官网网址渃anB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址� ThereB次元官网网址檚 no such thing as B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淣oB次元官网网址� is not in my vocabulary. If someone says that I cannot do something, it just makes me want it even more. Setting my sights on building more stores and pushing through is how I keep going. Everything in my life gets taken to the next step. IB次元官网网址檓 constantly growing and levelling up my goals.
Sloth:
Where would you spend a long time doing nothing?
Easy, Maui. Though my idea of doing nothing is a 12-kilometre morning beach walk followed by a round of golf at the Plantation Golf Course in Kapalua with my husband.
Pride:
What is the one thing youB次元官网网址檙e secretly proud of?
Oh manB次元官网网址ecretly? Hmm. My heart. I love to give. ThatB次元官网网址檚 never changed, even when IB次元官网网址檝e been burned. Yep, my heart. Oh jeez, now IB次元官网网址檓 crying.
Lust:
What makes your heart beat faster?
My dogs. My kids. My husband. My parents. My life. My community. My businesses. Everyone and everything around me. I am so, so, so grateful for this life of mine.
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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