Flower Child is ready to bloom

When Charlotte Pierce had her first son, she couldn’t find the classic, quality clothing she wanted to dress him in anywhere in Halifax. She wound up shopping  online, falling in love with European brands and when baby number two arrived, watching him put his brother’s hand-me-downs to work. That planted the seed for Flower Child, a children’s boutique that Pierce—the aesthete and owner of veteran business The Flower Shop (1705 Barrington Street)—will open this month, just around the corner at 5189 Prince Street.

“I did a good test run, a lot of these brands have made it through both my kids,” she says. “I want to sell stuff I really love. You have to truly believe what you’re selling is awesome and because I’ve been able to test out these lines I feel so strongly about them.” With a desire to give Halifax more options when it came to versatile, hardy, handmade clothing for little ones, and an opportunity a stone’s throw from her shop, Pierce and her husband went hard demoing and renoing the space, transforming what was once Rock Candy Boutique into a brighter, lighter location with an old-fashioned storefront.

She’s also enlisted the retail and fashion-buying expertise of her childhood best friend Liz Culjak-Trafford, who’ll serve as studio manager. “We spent our younger years dressing up so it’s been fun picking lines together. I know that the right staff is everything,” she says, crediting her Flower Shop crew as the reason she can “even entertain the idea of opening another small business.”

Flower Child will boast collections like bonnet-maker Briar Handmade, Misha and Puff knitwear, Angulus shoes from Denmark and local designs from Thief & Bandit, as well as bedding from Camomile London. Pierce says the store will also offer online shopping, gift registries and will serve as a venue for baby showers.

“Once you enter the entrepreneurial world you feel your sense of your roots so much stronger. There’s this duty to make the city great,” says Pierce. “Because I’ve gone through six years of The Flower Shop, I feel like if anything I’ve gained a bit of confidence in the retail world. So this risk, to me, is worth it to try.”