durhamregion.com This Week | Thursday,February 3, 2022 10 Like many local parents, Danielle Bridgnell loves second-hand shopping for baby and kids' stuff. But, she noticed something was missing from the thrifting scene in Durham. While other parts of the GTA had boutique-style shops for pre-loved kids' goods, there wasn't a lot locally. Bridgnell was on maternity leave when she started LOVEY pre-loved in February 2021 as an Instagram store offering up a curated selection of second-hand children's and baby clothing from brands like Gap, H&M, Zara, Hatley, Petit Lem and Toms. The store's name -- Lovey -- is a nod to Bridgnell's nickname for her son. After building a following online, LOVEY recently made the jump from social media shop to a brick- and-mortar location at 137 Byron St. N. in downtown Whitby. "I previously worked a corporate 9 to 5, it's exciting to be opening a store. I really saw that there was a need for something like this here," Bridgnell said. About 75 per cent of the store is second-hand, the rest is new items that are locally or Canadian- made. Examples include felt hair accessories made in Durham by Little Bug Accessories; natural and eco-friendly products from Eralume; knit toques from ALW Handmade; and children's clothing from Canadian brands such as Whistle and Flute and North Kinder. Bridgnell's goal is to to provide enough selection, but not make the store too time consuming to browse. Clothes aren't organized by gender, just by type, size and colour. "Sometimes second-hand shopping can be overwhelming with too much stuff to dig through and sort through -- and it can also be underwhelming when you can't find anything you like," she said. LOVEY pre-loved accepts inventory from all seasons, year-round. The store operates on a "buy and sell" model as opposed to consignment, which means sellers get money or store credit for their items up front. Are you opening a new business in Durham? Tell us about it! We also want to know about business anniversaries, store closings, amazing local makers and small biz owners. Send your ideas to reporter Jillian Follert at jfollert@durhamregion.com. BUSINESS STORE CREATES BOUTIQUE VIBE FOR PRE-LOVED KIDS' STUFF LOVEY PRE-LOVED STARTED OUT AS AN ONLINE STORE LOVEY PRE-LOVED Address: 137 Byron St. N., Whitby Phone: 905-441-7494 Instagram: @lovey_preloved Facebook: facebook.com/loveypreloved JILLIAN FOLLERT jfoller t@durhamregion.com LOVEY pre-loved is a new store opening Jan. 15 in downtown Whitby. The shop aims to bring a boutique feel to second-hand shopping for baby and kids' clothing. The store also stocks new items by Canadian and local makers. LOVEY pre-loved photos Got a question, com- ment or idea you'd like to share directly with the mayor of Whitby? You can do it in a live telephone town hall meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22, from 7-8 p.m. The mayor, and Whit- by's Chief Administrative Officer, Matt Gaskell, will be on the line to take your questions, comments and ideas about all things Whitby during that hour. When the town hall begins, thousands of residential land lines in Whitby will be randomly called to take part in the meeting. If residents get a call, they can choose to participate by staying on the line. However, if you would like to register your cell phone or land line number in advance to be sure you'll receive a call to take part you can do so online at www.whitby.ca/tele- phonetownhall or by calling 905-420-4300 ext. 2203. The event is also being recorded and will be posted to the Town's YouTube channel following the Town Hall. YOU CAN REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR MAYOR'S TOWN HALL TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com Call it a sign of the times, but Whitby's old and tired retro look will get a makeover in the coming half-decade. The price won't be a cheap as it will cost about $3 million to replace and upgrade 855 interior and exterior way-finding signs in the town in the coming years. But councillors were in hearty agreement the time had come to give the town a new 21st-century look. The new signs will incorporate the town's new logo, especially at town entrances, and will be designed to make it as easy as possible for visitors and locals alike to get around inside town facilities and outside on town streets and roads. Not everything will come at once or in one chunk. The sign program will begin with smaller facilities and interior signs which are pegged to cost $119,200 and will consist of 255 signs. Phase 2 will involve parks and trail signs and will include the most signs, 455, and bring with it a cost of $1,181,000. Phase 3 will be for pedestrian/sidewalk signs which will be just 21 signs and cost $102,000. Facilities and ex-terior signage will make up 26 signs and come in at $400,000. Finally, the rest of Whitby and parking will account for 112 signs and $1,276,000 signs to finish the multi-year program. "It will make the town have a clean, professional look to it. I really think this is going to add a cleaner look to the town overall. I really liked the town entrance signs," said Reg. Coun. Steve Yamada. "It's very tasteful, well thought-out, with an em-phasis on eliminating sign clutter, which is something we've been chasing in this town for a long time. This is a huge opportunity to make our town look a lot better going forward," said Mayor Don Mitchell. "Of all the excellent highlights of this report, it generally advises against digital signage. It has been a trend recently, it is unreservedly ugly, and we've done a good job of controlling it," he added. TOWN WILL GET FRESH NEW LOOK AS SIGNS WILL SPROUT UP TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com COUNCIL A concept rendering of a possible 400-series highway gateway sign showing the new Whitby logo. Fathom Studio photo