Kelly Hoppen Interiors

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Balisi Interview Part 3

LIZ: Any new product lines or trend directions that Balisi is taking next?

DALE: Going into spring summer collection, we will see more bold colours, a lot of details.

LIZ: What type of shopping experience does Balisi try to create for its customers?

DALE: Balisi prides itself on something called elite customer service. What that means is that normally when a customer walks through the door they are greeted with hello, and they browse around. If a customer is coming into the store or going shopping typically they are out for a specific reason, so we try our best to find out that reason. Are they going to a party? Our job is to walk the customer through the store and show them the different merchandise available to create that style. Knowing what an event is all about, we can help create a look for a customer. We go as far as researching places in the neighbourhood for hair and makeup that we can recommend to go with their new outfits.

LIZ: Given that today the general public is a lot more environmentally aware, how important do you think it is to stock eco friendly products?

DALE: We stock quite a few varieties that are eco friendly. El Naturalista is a brand out of Spain that uses natural rubbers, vegetable tanned leathers, organic dyes, and they actually manufacture them in a solar powered plant in Spain. The boxes they come in are also biodegradable. The goal is an eco conscience design. Another brand is Terra Plana, they use recycled seat belts, and recycled plastic bags for a new age twist on the recycled products. We even carry vegan leather bags.

LIZ: Balisi has gained notoriety among Toronto’s established and up and coming young stars and musicians, what is the most interesting part about collaborating with them to create their image and to promote your brand?

DALE: Musicians have to be a little bit more outside of the box, so we have to be on top of the style trends to make sure that our clients are as well. We don’t specifically cater to just celebrities, we keep all of our customers in mind, celebrities (not all of them) come and go, but a client stays.

LIZ: If you could describe Balisi in three words what would they be?

DALE: High fashion- in- one stop.

I found it interesting that Balisi doesn’t hire regular sales associates, here’s what Dale had to say: We don’t hire sales associates we hire stylists who will work with the client to cater a look just for them. You can find sales associates anywhere, at Balisi our stylists don’t get commission we all work based on a love for the art.

Balisi Part 2

LIZ: A lot of the products that Balisi stocks are from Europe, they have“euro flair”, does Balisi carry local Canadian brands, and how important do you think it is to stock local products as well as international ones?

DALE: The owners are Canadian themselves and they definitely offer Canadian brands. We carry hats from Ophelia out of Montreal, Phillip Sparks based out of Toronto. We try and bring in Canadian merchandise to really showcase the talents here in Canada.

LIZ: What is the process of buying for the stores, do the buyers follow trends, do they stock what they like, or a bit of both?

DALE: The buyers are Cory and Rehlee; they are the masters behind the brand. They are very up on the trends; most recently we had the current collection as an inspiration of the Gossip Girl scene, so that New York, Manhattan socialite, brought to Canadian fashion. Our clientele are looking for something that allows them to feel in touch with their younger side. Everything we offer has great shape, structure and clean lines for the customer, but also allows them to have that individuality to go along with it. We typically bring in one of each size of everything we have. So once an item is gone, it’s gone. Because we only have three stores in Toronto the odds of running into someone with the same outfit are slim so in essence we are a creating an original, unique one of a kind experience.

LIZ: Who is the ideal Balisi client?

DALE: I don’t think there is an ideal client for Balisi because we get any and everyone, we cater to everyone. I would say it’s the fashion hungry people that really want to feel special.

LIZ: Balisi was first conceptualized as a footwear store, when did the accessories i.e.: handbags and jewellery become apart of the store’s vision?

DALE: The handbags started on College Street and a lot of the clothing and accessories themselves started when we opened the Queen Street location. It’s been an ever evolving process of different things coming in. I think that people want to shop at one store get their entire outfit from head to toe and create their own unique style.

Balisi Interview Part 1

Just before the Holidays I got to sit down with  store manager and in house stylist Dale Hodder of Balisi. Here is part 1 of the interview.

LIZ: Why decide to work for Balisi, since you are an already established stylist for 15 years?

DALE: There are a lot of opportunities out there, but Balisi being a growing company, I saw great opportunities. I met up with owner Rehlee during fashion week and as we talked I felt the connection and the vision of his company and the opportunities that came with it. This company has allowed me opportunities to grow consistently since I started.

LIZ: What was the owners (Rehlee Balisi and Cory Kierstead) inspiration to open a footwear store in Toronto, and what sets Balisi apart from other shoe and accessories stores?

DALE: They have seen a lot of retail stores that currently supply shoes, but there weren’t a lot of them with fashionable shoes, something that’s artistic, and something that is expressive. They saw an opportunity to feed into an energy that didn’t already exist outside of Balisi.

LIZ: Balisi has 2 other already established locations one on College, one on Queen
Street and now this new Danforth location, why was it important to open a new store on the Danforth?

DALE: The major reason was that they already pinpointed the College crowd, the Queen Street crowd. Passing by the Danforth area they noticed that although there were a variety of things, there still wasn’t anywhere that was catering to the younger fresher clientele that was looking for a little bit more.

LIZ: do you feel that the Danforth is a new emerging multi cultural location?

DALE: Danforth definitely was a very traditionally Greek neighbourhood in the past but over the last few years that tradition has grown on a bigger avenue. There are all types of stores and restaurants now, I think the Danforth area was looking for a way to expand itself, and of course we saw the opportunity to become apart of something that is ever expanding.