Sisters Jaclyn Gruchy, 27, and Tennille Ashley, 29, will soon be gazing at a different view from behind the counter of Twisted Sisters Boutik.

As of Oct. 1, the Canadian design-inspired women’s clothing store — which opened its doors just over two years ago on the corner of Prescott and Water Street in downtown St. John’s — is moving a block west up Water. The sisters are hoping their current stunning view of The Narrows will be replaced by increased sightings of customers and credit cards.

“We’ve been thinking about moving since the day that we opened really,” Ashley tells The Independent. “We don’t want to, we kind of have to, because, well, we ran out of space, but you look up the street on a beautiful day and there’s so many people walking up there and there’s nobody down here.

“I mean it’s not that far off of the strip, but that was what we were really surprised about, it is that far off of the strip.”

Twisted Sisters Boutik will be joining the ranks of the closest thing St. John’s has to a “fashion district.” Setting up in the spot Tectonics Hair Studio used to occupy (the salon is now named Sound and recently moved further west, near the Murray Premises), the sisters will be surrounded by some of downtown’s most popular stores. The area is a magnet for summer tourists as well as locals, and with multiple condo developments pending, it’s likely to keep growing.

“People want to go in and out of stores. When they look down the street and see there’s only one down there but there’s 20 over there, they go the other way,” says Ashley.

Both she and Gruchy admit they would love to see downtown St. John’s embrace a stronger shopping culture away from the box stores and the malls.

Twisted Sisters Boutik has developed a loyal customer base of local women, drawn to its promise of originality and diversity. With Canadian-only designers, an edgy mix of styles and many locally created lines of accessories as well as featured artwork, Gruchy says their clients have come to expect a certain standard.

Ashley says they often check how many pieces in one particular style have been sold already (“nobody likes running into themselves”) and ask to be notified when certain stock arrives.

The premise of unique designs and strong customer service is of key importance and Gruchy says it makes the idea of possibly hiring staff in the future difficult (currently the sisters man the store solo, helped out occasionally by friends).

“We’ve got all these things that our customers expect from us now and you almost have to teach that to your employees, the moment that they start working,” she says.

Both of the sisters have other career interests besides the store. Gruchy works a couple of days a week at Sound hair salon and Ashley has her own business called Devotion Electrolysis.

They decided to start up Twisted Sisters Boutik because they were interested in fashion and saw a gap in the St. John’s market for an original, edgy, Canadian designed clothing store.

The sisters say customers are excited about their upcoming move, which will allow extra room for merchandise and is currently being celebrated with a moving sale, which includes discounts on stock of up to 70 per cent.

Along with the ever-evolving lines from the young Canadian designers featured in the store, Ashley says Twisted Sisters Boutik has also grown and changed its look over the last two years, from less street wear to more sophistication — although they try to keep a mix.

The same could be said for their own individual clothing tastes. Mass exposure to ever-changing fashion and multiple buying trips to order stock has influenced their own styles.

“Mine has changed so much and it still does almost every season,” says Ashley, at a loss to describe herself. “Certain days, I’ll want to wear a T-shirt with a skull on it and another day I want to wear a blouse with flowers.”

Gruchy, who loves 1940s and ’50s inspired clothing, laughs and calls her sister “particular,” although she admits her own tastes have drastically changed in recent years too.

“I wore black for about four years and not another colour entered my wardrobe … but now I’m like, ‘Colours.’ I don’t want to wear a piece of black clothing.”

When asked if they ever abandon their boutique, Canadian design sensibilities and shop in the mall, the sisters let out a collective “ewww” and roll their eyes.

“We don’t really go anymore,” says Gruchy with a shrug. “It just kind of made us stop because we were trying to focus on Canadian designs that are made in Canada and trying to have a better focus — that’s important to us — and then how do we go and shop at the mall?”

By courtesy (St. John's)
The Independent
Sunday, September 18, 2005

By Clare-Marie Gosse