Frou Frou Monkey store to close and continue online

Frou Frou Monkey owner, Margo Matheson, shows off one of her favourite store products - an elk statue ring holder - before the store closes in June.

(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)

May 23, 2013 - 5:12 PM

A Kamloops antique store is going modern. Frou Frou Monkey is shutting it's doors on Victoria Street after eight years, but will continue selling it's eclectic products online.

Owner, operator and founder, Margo Matheson, said the store will close at the end of June because she's ready to retire.

She decided to continue the business online instead of selling. She hopes a family friend who worked with her for six years may take it over one day.

She also wanted to keep the name.

"I just sort of made it up," she said. "I thought it wouldn't label me as anything, it could just be anything."

Customers can attest that the store has been both anything and everything in it's lifespan in downtown Kamloops.

Furniture, stationary, beauty products, handbags, baby products, jewellery, consignment items and antiques are all available at the shop in a unique presentation.

Walk through the door and you're immediately whistled at. Look under the jewellery case and you might see a baby head doll ring.

"It's funky and eclectic," Matheson said.

For her, opening the business helped prove she could do anything she set her mind to.

She opened the business after 18 years as a legal assistant in Kamloops.

"I always had a creative side," she said. "It was time for a change."

A long-time Kamloops resident, Matheson found success in the community and had help and support from family and friends.

Her husband Jim Hamilton helped. Her daughter, Katie, worked in the shop in high school and periodically throughout the years. Family friends have also taken on various roles throughout the years.

"I've always had people I know," Matheson said.

Originally a block down, Frou Frou Monkey moved to it's final location at 263 Victoria Street when the lease ran out about three years ago.

The newer location was a bit smaller - so the focus changed a bit more towards jewellery - something that will continue on the website.

While Matheson is unsure yet exactly how the website will function, she is looking forward to a smaller commitment and encourages people to continue shopping in the downtown core.

"I really appreciated the opportunity in downtown Kamloops," she said. "I don't think that, by any means, online shopping should replace downtown shopping."

To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 319-7494.