Earlier this spring, a little boutique opened up in the hub of Toronto’s fashion district and did it ever open with a bang! The Store on Queen was launched by two friends who have made their mark in the city and are honoured to call thousands of people and customers their friends. Known for their quirky and fun personalities, owners Angela and Valentina welcome every customer just like how they would chat and act with each other. Not only that, but many ladies religiously follow the two on their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages as they take daily shots of themselves wearing the clothes they buy for the store. I, too, am a personal fan and even message these gorgeous girls if they can recommend something for my special nights out. They are always on the ball and know my style inside and out! The duo found some time from their crazy schedule to chat with me about all things TSOQ…

Mijana: TSOQ is being talked about all over Toronto! How did the two of you join forces?
Valentine: Well both of us recently moved to Toronto last fall. I am from Vancouver and had my own store there. Angela was here but working on her family’s restaurant business out in Western Ontario. I sold my store, came here because I wanted to start something new and fresh, met Angela, and she felt the exact same. Funny enough, we had a coffee date on Feb 29 (out of all days!) and we came across a space for rent on Queen Street. That was pretty much the beginning of it all. Both of us felt that Toronto was missing something and since we both just moved to the city, there was nothing keeping us grounded here even though we wanted to live here so bad. So we decided to takes matters into our own hands.

M: What do you think makes TSOQ different from other boutiques in the city?
Angela: TSOQ is very different. We are different. We are ourselves. We push boundaries when it comes to our fashion style. We LOVE making friends with all of our customers. We love each other, fashion, what we do and all the lovely girls that come in here every day.

M: Angela you’re a designer and Valentina you’re the buyer – how do you two work together when looking for pieces to buy for the store?
V: Angela and I know our girls very well and essentially are on the same wavelength with their style and fashion interests. We discuss the trends that we want and I search globally for them. The same goes for our custom TSOQ pieces that Angela executes. Angela believes in my talent to make the buying decisions and I trust in her fabulous design talents to create beautiful clothes for our girls.

M: People are all over your social media pages and chatting with you like they’ve known you their whole lives. How does that make you feel?
V: The social media is amazing! We love that the people who come in are so comfortable with us. We have an overwhelming amount of love and support from those that we have either met in the shop, out and about, and even never met! Somehow our true spirits are shown through the screen and people love that. We love them all too and embrace it.

M: What are your top 5 current TSOQ must-haves for the coming New Year so the ladies can start 2013 with a bang?
V: Style is an individual form of expression. What my must haves may be very different than yours. There are far too many to list. Every piece is hand selected, with current trends, forecasted looks, with every girl in mind, and is a MUST HAVE! If it wasn’t a must, we wouldn’t have it in here.

The Store on Queen is located on 719 Queen Street West and is open 7 days a week. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter:
facebook.com/TheStoreOnQueen and @TheStoreOnQueen.

All images courtesy of The Store on Queen

By: Mijana Veljkovic, Toronto

You should follow me on Twitter @mijanaveljkovic.

Are you an employer? Post your job here.

Are you a job seeker? Find fashion jobs here.