If you build it they will come is not just true of a brick-and-mortar store, as Christina Pretti learned. In 2012, she launched Soop Soop online as a contemporary vintage e-shop to make her new business venture affordable. Having an actual storefront seemed out of reach to the first-time business owner, but as demand for her product grew she had to too.
“People would email asking to try things on and we’d be meeting in Starbucks,” says Christina. In April 2014, she opened an 800-square-foot boutique on a busy strip of Dundas West with her partner Jordan Puopolo. The store not only solved the fitting room dilemma but also fulfilled a dream; Christina always wanted her own shop.
“We never really thought we could,” says Christina about opening the store. “Then it just became more and more clear that it was safe, that people were into what we were doing, and that we could just go for it.”
Everything has grown organically from there. Once they had a space it became easy to approach brands they wanted to carry. Soop Soop still stocks contemporary vintage clothing but now they also sell progressive brands like 202 Factory, Shallowww, Dom Sebastian, Nattofranco, Lazy Oaf and Arcangel Surfware as well as Scotch nail polish and a slew of publications.
Christina and Jordan are print aficionados and Soop Soop has become a vehicle for them to access some harder-to-find titles they adore such as Buffalo Zine, Tunica Magazine and Talc. They stock over 50 titles altogether, ranging from local publications like Bad Day to international fashion publications i-D and Purple.
