Looking Forward

It’s here, our last week in Mona Vale. It conjures up all sorts of emotions. Happy, sad, nostalgic, excited, anxious. I guess all the normal emotions one feels when there is a big change in their life. 

I have felt extremely proud these past few weeks, and very grateful, for the amount of customers who have been in to see us to tell us they are 'shocked that we're leaving', 'disappointed', 'sad', 'where will we go now?'. (and grabbed some amazing bargains too of course). But, I imagined how it would've felt for me to have decided to close and for no one to care! I do feel very lucky. 

Work on our new online store has commenced, and we are thrilled at the amount of support we have had from our Mona Vale customers. It’s tempting to just ride the wave of support and get the online store up and running straight away. But, hopefully our customers will wait for us. The whole point of closing Mona Vale was to give myself a break, so our online store will launch in September/October, complete with a new Summer range.

Sneak Peek of work on our online store

Some customers have come in very concerned that we have had to close because of some funny reasons 'didn't you get enough customers?', 'is it because of the carbon tax?', 'rents are so high these days', 'is it because of online stores? There will be no shops left soon'. Thankfully for Plie, it is none of the above. 

But it got me thinking about small local businesses and how much we need to support them. Its a lot of hard work, and a big commitment. And I know not all of them are as fortunate as we have been. It doesn't take much, just a small purchase, once a week or month. We all like to have great little shops and cafes in our area, it makes our little villages what they are. But we need to support them. We are always sad when they close, and then we realise that we only went in there a couple of times, and it was easier to 'get it when we were at the mall' or 'it was $2 cheaper' somewhere else... we all need to stop doing that. Or there really will be no one left… especially now there is a carbon tax : ) he he he

Closing the shop has been a lot of work! Nearly as much as opening 8 years ago I think... maybe it just feels that way. But, the amount of hard work these past couple of weeks has really cemented my decision and made me really look forward to the next few months as a ‘stay at home Mum’. And with kids as cute as mine, who wouldn’t look forward to that! : ) 

Plie is taking a little break...

Yep, that’s right. After 8 wonderful years in Mona Vale. Plie will close its doors at the end of July for the last time. 

Of course its been a very emotional decision. And we know there will be a lot of speculation as to why, how, who, what. So, what better place to tell the real story than on our blog.

As the die hard Plie fans will know, the business was started over 8 years ago by my two sisters, Alanna and Courtney. Fresh out of school, they took a massive risk and created a business from scratch that has now become a well known and, we’d like to think, much loved business on the Peninsula.

I joined the business 7 years ago, and we created another Plie in Mosman.

Both Alanna and I became Parents during that time, and babies and two stores was just too much. Mona Vale was the most prosperous, and convenient to our Northern Beaches homes, so Mona Vale stayed and Mosman was sold.

Early days at Plie Mosman. We actually hate this photo, but in all these years its the only one of the three of us! 

I have been running the business for the last couple of years on my own. Using the time I had left, after having another baby, transformed Plie into what it is today. A gorgeous haven for all things girly, and pretty, and I have LOVED it. 

But, even though I have loved the challenge. Having the store on my own has literally consumed my life. Having a small business is definitely not your ordinary 9 – 5 affair and combining that with a young (and hopefully ‘growing’) family, something had to give.

My Mum always says “your kids are only little for such a short amount of time” and I want to spend that time with them. And hopefully add another one to the brood too : )

We would like to thank you all for your continued support over the past 8 years and more. We have some really loyal and lovely customers, and obviously Plie wouldn’t be what it is today without you. Please make sure you stay in touch with us via our facebook page, blog and instagram @plieboutique.

Also a BIG BIG Thank you to the wonderful staff at Plie – Aerlie, Sabrina and Vivienne. The best staff members that anyone could wish for. It would never have been possible without the three of you.

We have created a great brand with Plie that we are very, very proud of.  When you have created something from the beginning, it’s hard to see it go to someone else. We wanted the intellectual property to remain ours, and that is why we decided not to sell the business.

This wont be the end for Plie, of that we are certain. Perhaps an online store, or a new location in the future. So please stay tuned.

Lots of love, Holly x