FERGUS – Terri-Lynne Rade gave up a career in health care and will soon find herself on the runway of Startup Fashion Week – or at least the vegan leather handbags she designed will be modelled on the runway.
It’s a day she dreamed about, but in the lowest of her low days, she could not imagine getting there so quickly.
Drained after 38 years as a nurse – 17 of those as owner of a senior care nursing business – the 61-year-old Fergus woman left it all in 2021 and has since tapped into her artistic, fashion-loving side.
She designed a line of vegan leather handbags, launched her company Hare and Rose in May, and learned in August she was accepted for Startup Fashion week in Toronto.
“I’m pretty excited,” she said in an interview. “This has been a journey of passion and persistence – and some good luck and good timing.”
Rade said she loved nursing and caring for older clientele. She has a very fond memory of giving a client a Christmas to remember, getting her all decked out for a gorgeous, glamorous fashion shoot.
But the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on her, she said. She decided she had to leave nursing and find another path that would make her happy.
Doodles on paper turned into purse designs. A life of experience with handbags – some she loved, some she hated – turned into functional and thoughtful features in these bags.
And her passion for sustainable products and practices led her to manufacturers with her standard of excellence and vision to help the planet.
The handbags bear the stamp of Hare and Rose – the name chosen to reflect her Irish heritage and the clasp is a version of a Celtic knot.
The bags are made from recycled water bottles and are worked until they are “buttery soft,” she said.
The weekender bag has a sleeve to fit over a suitcase handle and a pocket for your passport.
“There’s a purpose to every pocket,” she said.
Just one problem. She had a warehouse full of them and very few sales.
While she sells online through her website, “Amazon is easy for buyers to use but not so easy for sellers,” she said.
She decided to start knocking on doors and her first stop was Studio Boutique in Fergus.
“She approached us, and the timing was impeccable,” co-owner Tammy Paetkau said in an interview.
She and business partner Charlene Staken happened to be looking for a line of purses to carry in the store.
Paetkau said the bags had a “methodical” design and were high quality and would have mass appeal.
“We instantly bonded with Terri-Lynne and purchased the product,” she said.
The duo also invited Rade to be part of their fashion show, which occurs Nov. 1 at the Fergus Legion.
The event, Girls’ Night Out, will showcase the clothes and accessories they sell at the store.
Their focus is on selling women’s fashion, jewelry and accessories designed by Canadian artisans.
Tickets for the fashion show are $45 and can be purchased at studioboutique.net.
Paetkau told Rade about Startup Fashion Week; Rade applied – just under the wire – and was accepted.
Startup Fashion Week is an event that highlights emerging Canadian fashion designers and runs Oct. 23 to 25 in Toronto.
It includes a media launch event, a business conference, a photo shoot featuring her product, and the fashion show, on Oct. 25, at 6:30pm at the Illuminarian.
The theme this year is Balancing Act, which Rade thought was very fitting.
The selected designers have to find their own models, dress them, and supply music for their turn on the runway and the photo shoot.
Rade turned to the Sustainable Stylist Shannon Laity based in Hamilton to help dress the models.
Sustainable to Laity means second-hand shopping, which might seem contrary to the other pillar of her business – to help her clients get a new, pulled-together look.
But she’s developed an eye for spotting quality fabric and fashion and can scan a second-hand rack pretty quickly.
Her clients often include new mothers or women starting new careers.
Information about Laity can be found at sustainablestylist.ca.
Rade sent her photos of the look she was after for the runway, and Laity hit the second-hand and consignment stores to find items that would fit the models and the vibe.
She’s also styling Rade for fashion week events.
But at least she’s not hunting for handbags.
“No, we know what the handbags will be,” Laity said with a laugh, adding it’s a little strange to build a wardrobe around a purse.
Fashion week will give Rade a stage on which to be seen and a place for retailers to see what designers have in store for spring.
It’s an opportunity she’s grateful for.
“And to think, it’s all come about because I live in Fergus,” she said.
For more information about Rade and her handbags, visit hareandrose.com.
For information about Startup Fashion Week, visit startupfashionweek.com.
