Written by Lindsay Page, HOK Founder and marketing strategist
Why do I think olive & elle is one of Kelowna’s best boutiques? Well, let me tell you a quick story.
When I was 6 months pregnant with my daughter and visiting my family in Kelowna, we strolled into the cutest little store with white and yellow striped awnings in a gorgeous brick heritage building. We must have just missed the party and one of the store owners asked if I was having a girl. Yes! I was! She then handed me a pretty wrapped gift and said, we just celebrated our 4th anniversary and we had this door prize for someone with a little girl and no one came through, so here you go! I mean, I was already in love with this boutique downtown Kelowna, now I was head over heels.
Olive & elle is a perfect blend of home wares,
We stock our shelves with beautiful and useful goods conducive to keeping a peaceful, easy feeling home
olive & elle
About 6 months before this post, olive & elle suffered the damage of a major flood! The shop stayed closed for 5 months while they repaired the flooring and made a few renovations throughout the store. They hosted a pop-up shop at Sandhill winery over Christmas time so they could serve their customers but as the store owner, Linda, told me, they missed the customers.
In late March 2019, olive & elle was reborn! I visited the weekend after to pick up a housewarming gift for my sister and was greeted with the same warm customer service, a beautiful and eclectic collection of homewares, perfectly made beds and my favourite section; stationery. I chatted with o&e owner, Linda Povarchook and asked her some questions about my favourite boutique in Kelowna.
Linda Povarchook – olive & elle owner
Tel us about yourself and olive & elle
Olive & elle was founded 11 years ago by myself as sole proprietor. I have a back ground in Fine Arts and Decorating. I have wonderful staff who are fun to spend my day with who share my enthusiasm and love of o&e.
It is a lifestyle store, carrying a little bit of everything for everyone. From beautiful bed linens to beard care products for men, and everything in between, we have carefully curated items for you and your home as well as gifts for those wonderful friends of yours.
We are known for two things: Our beautiful bed linens and our customer service (we love gift wrapping your purchase, free of charge).
What do you think makes the Okanagan special as a business owner?
The weather, lake, orchards and wineries. Come on! We live in the perfect place and because of that, we get so many fabulous visitors from all over who often become repeat customers that we look forward to visiting with year after year.
We had done our research and I had worked downtown [Kelowna] for several years before opening the store so I was very familiar with the downtown community and comfortable opening a store here.
If you were buying a housewarming gift for a friend, what you would buy for them from Olive & Elle?
One of our favourite candles from Vancouver based Brand & Iron and 2 mugs beautiful squatty (colour coordinated) coffee mugs.
For fun: what is your favourite Okanagan restaurant(s)?
So many good restaurants downtown…too many to choose from. I will say Heritage Salad from Raudz, Poutine from Krafty Kitchen and Pizza from The Curious.
What is your favourite Okanagan wine?
That’s also a tough one. I love a nice Viognier year round and Pinot Gris in the summer months. I can’t single out one vineyard because I have too many favourites. Having said that, I do enjoy sitting on the patio at Arrowleaf Cellars in the summer and taking in the beauty of the vineyard and the lake.
What is your favourite Okanagan activity?
My friend and I walk in the mornings and it’s a perfect way to appreciate the beauty of Kelowna. Walking up Knox is always breathtaking.
Any final thoughts to share with our readers?
Just like the rest of the world, olive & elle continues to evolve. Looking back at photos from the past 11 years, I am amazed at how much our little shop has changed, especially since our flood. One thing that hasn’t changes, our love of being part of the downtown Kelowna community and being able to provide a service to all of our wonderful clients and friends.
If you have yet to visit olive & elle, make sure you pop in on your next visit downtown Kelowna. You can visit their website to shop but we highly recommend visiting in person to experience the charm and top notch service, o&e is famous for. It’s one of those shops that you go in not knowing what to expect and leave with something special for your home that you will cherish.
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