Fredericton Boutique to Start Non-Profit Mental Health Organization
FREDERICTON – Oromocto’s Simply Rose Boutique is working to create a Mental Health Box. In an effort to help support local mental health organizations, the Mental Health Box will be a locally run, non-profit organization.
In 2020, during the starting months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kristen Lyons opened the Simply Rose Boutique. After her previous job had permanently closed its doors, she started making shirt designs with her mom’s old Cricut machine.
“It kind of just took off from there. People started buying and then I kept growing and then eventually got into more screen printing and using a permanent ink and printing shirts” Lyons tells Huddle.
Starting as a local boutique in Oromocto, Simple Rose Boutique carries products like clothing, jewelry, cups, and much more from a variety of local businesses.
Later in 2022, Lyons had a desire to start her own clothing brand: Maritimer Clothing Co.
“I just kind of wanted my own brand name, something that everybody would recognize to be something that I created,” says Lyons.
Creating designs that are inspirational, funny, based on popular television shows, and much more, Maritimer Clothing Co. has come to be worn worldwide. Lyons says that the furthest areas in which she has sent her products have been places such as England and Australia.
In the upcoming months, Lyons is set to launch her new Mental Health Box. The Mental Health Box boxes will contain a variety of products pertaining to mental health and self-care and will be available on the Simply Rose Boutique website.
“[People] can buy it for themselves or they can buy it for a friend or even a stranger from nominations that we’ll be receiving,” she tells Huddle. “And with every box that’s purchased by an individual, another box will be donated to a place where we’ll be distributing them at.”
Currently, Lyons says that the locations in which they will donating are not yet determined, but they are attempting to get into places such as local hospitals and women’s shelters.
Along with this, Lyons says that she is set to participate in an upcoming mental health fundraiser. This will take place on June 25 in Fredericton, at the Capital Winter Club. There will be a variety of local vendors in attendance who will be coming together to bring awareness to mental health.
“We’ll have a barbeque and all that stuff and everything that’s fundraised will be donated to beginning the Mental Health Box,” says Lyons.
Although the Metal Health Box be primarily sold by Simply Rose Boutique, Lyons says that she will be supporting other local business when searching for items to place within it.
Simply Rose Boutique will also be a vendor at Area 506 this year in Saint John. Opening on May 19th, Lyons says that this location will carry a variety of the products that are found on their website.
Ryley Roach is a Huddle student intern, based in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected]