A new enterprise in White Rock brings two businesses together in a unique, one-of-a-kind experience.
When One Love Refill + Fashion co-owners Naa Sheka Riby-Williams and Camille Lebeuf participated in a pop-up business event in Vancouver in 2021 and were located in adjacent booths, they immediately connected, as they found they shared many of the same eco-conscious values and were of like mind on several issues.
Riby-Williams’ Naa Sheka Fashion and Sheka Shea offer ethical and sustainable items – high-quality shea and cocoa products and Ghana-inspired fashion popular in modern Western culture, made here in Canada and also in Ghana, in Western Africa.
Meanwhile LeBeuf’s Bare Refillery, originally started as a mobile business, offers safer, locally made alternatives to everyday products, like hand and dish soap, to Lower Mainland residents to help the environment by reducing plastic waste.
Customers can bring their own re-usable containers to fill with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap and the like, rather than continuously purchasing these types of products in single-use bottles.
The pair didn’t think of starting a business together right away, but when Riby-Williams, a Semiahmoo Secondary grad who grew up in White Rock and has lived in the city most of her life, noticed a location become available on Stayte Road, she immediately thought of Lebeuf, and contacted her.
“I approached Camille because there are no refilleries in White Rock or South Surrey,” Riby-Williams said, noting her Naa Sheka clothing line, which is also featured in other locations in Vancouver, Richmond, and Vancouver Island, was starting to expand and she wanted a flagship location.
That sounded good to Lebeuf, who grew up on a boat, and understands firsthand the devastation that waste – especially plastic waste – can have on the ocean and environment.
“I think I didn’t grasp it as much as a kid, but now, I have my owns kids… I also think people are starting to be a bit more conscious about what they’re bringing into their households,” she said.
She also uses some of Riby-Williams’ shea products in the sustainable products she offers, as both business owners focus on providing consciously created products and ethically sourced materials.
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Riby-Williams, who moved to Ghana for a time to embrace her heritage (her father was from Ghana) and open a sewing shop there, also provides jobs with fair wages to Ghanaians in the Accra region and gives a percentage of her business’ profits to build libraries in Ghana.
“Know your roots, know yourself,” she said.
“(My business) is a way of honouring him,” she said of her father, who died in 2009.
“I think it’s important to embrace culture, and I want to help bring more culture to the area,” she said, noting she and Lebeuf want their business to also be a hub for the community, and eventually host different events, workshops and classes that align with their sustainability goals while embracing arts and culture.
The location, on the corner of Stayte Road and Pacific Avenue (160th Street), was once a corner store.
Now, it is spacious, well-lit, and smells amazing, with one half of the venue featuring Riby-Williams’ offerings, and the other, featuring LeBeuf’s sustainable and eco-friendly products.
Although One Love Refill + Fashion is fairly new, there were plenty of interested passers-by and neighbours who stopped in to check it out, many excited about the new business.
“I live just up the street… I noticed you the other day,” said one visitor, who noted she has two daughters.
“For years I’ve been saying to my daughters, ‘You should open up a refillery, we need one around here – there’s none in this area, we always go to Chilliwack,” she said.
“We really need it around here.”
Lebuef said refilling is one simple way for people to make a large impact on both reducing waste and becoming more conscious about consumables.
“A lot of people come in with questions – some don’t know what a refillery is, so I’ll answer their questions and give them a tutorial,” she said.
“Then they come back with their friends. It’s a safe place to come and try out lessening our footprint on our precious Earth.”
The businesses complement each other perfectly, with many customers coming for one, then staying to shop or learn about the other.
As well as her diverse ethical fashion, Riby-Williams also sells products like authentic African Djembe drums, as well as works of art from a wide variety of artists, many from Ghana, that she curates.
“When people walk in here, I feel like they’re in the moment and shopping consciously… that we’re helping create conscious consumers,” Lebeuf said.
“You’re supporting local and experiencing something different,” Riby-Williams agreed.
@Canucklehedd
tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com
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