Many readers have been asking about the new Simple & Just storefront at the old Video Isle location. The shop has a website along with the “coming soon” signs in the windows of 2213 Queen Anne Ave N. The .org in the website name has piqued a lot of interest in the mystery shop, indicating a new nonprofit venture on Queen Anne.
Simple & Just is indeed a nonprofit with a good cause: helping women and children who are victims of exploitation and trafficking. And, it’s a cause that Queen Anne resident Carolyn Quatier, Founder and Board President of Simple & Just, invites the Queen Anne community to support via the new Simple & Just high-end resale shop.
The concept is simple and the impact is powerful. Simple & Just will be a retail shop with 100% of profits supporting after-care efforts. It will offer sustainable funding to several organizations that offer collaborative after-care, as well as internships for local university students. According to Quatier, the idea is to invite a broader group of people to engage via a retail store.
How can Queen Anne residents participate? There are several options. First, donations – Simple & Just will take high-end donations of clothing and accessories, all tax deductible to the donor, and sort them for sale in the shop. Second, volunteers – Simple & Just will have volunteer opportunities for people who would like to get involved in the back office, sorting through donations and tagging them for sale. Third, shopping – the retail storefront will be open to all, so you can browse and shop for upscale items, both new and one-of-a-kind treasures.
Donations are welcome and will help keep the shop running and supporting the cause. If items don’t make the cut for the shop or there are too many of a specific item, the organization will turn them over to other local nonprofits. While the shop will focus on high-end clothing and accessories, it will also feature unique and cool items as they become available. Think art, household décor, brand-new department store lines, etc., all available as the shop hosts impromptu pop-up shops throughout the year.
To get the shop up and running, Simple & Just will hold a Shelf Filling Party in September. All are invited to attend and bring along donations to help fill the shop in advance of its opening in late September/early October. As the date draws closer, we’ll get the info out so you can welcome Simple & Just to Queen Anne and help give it a great start.
In the meantime, you can follow Simple & Just on Instagram to witness the transformation from video store to upscale resale for a cause.