{"id":1427,"date":"2016-07-25T14:21:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T14:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/?p=1427"},"modified":"2020-10-28T14:40:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:40:31","slug":"shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing woman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shannon Passero’s flourishing textile and design company is sustainable, ethical and profitable<\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Shannon<\/a><\/p>\n

Story by Susan Bubak
\nPhotography by Dean Palmer<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t find any stamps or envelopes in the old post office building\u00a0 in Thorold, Ont., but you will find unique clothing and accessories made locally and around the world. Clothing and textile designer Shannon Passero and her husband, Michael, transformed the former government building into a niche boutique called The Post Office. The store caters to socially-conscious consumers who care about what they buy, where it comes from and the people who made it.<\/p>\n

The store features a colourful assortment of products, from hand- stamped pewter jewelry made by an artisan in Thailand to preserves from Niagara-on-the-Lake. Along with a team of buyers, Passero handpicks all of the merchandise \u2014 more than 20,000 items from 200 vendors\u2014and every item has a story. \u201cWe know where everything\u2019s coming from and the accountability of it, which is refreshing,\u201d she says. She also wants her customers to have a memorable shopping experience, from the moment they walk through the door and smell the handmade soaps to when they make their purchase. When was the last time your receipt came in a small hand-beaded purse?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all works together in this amazing little spot,\u201d says Passero, 43. \u201cThe way retail is going is that people want a great experience. The whole \u2018shop local\u2019 thing is great, but people want to have good value, they want to have friendly service and different products. It\u2019s a simple equation, but it\u2019s very difficult to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Passero, BFA \u201995, is a veteran of the fashion world, getting her start in 1998 when she co-founded and designed her first clothing line, Pure Handknit Designs, a collection of hand-knit sweaters with distinctively crafted buttons. In 2006 she launched Neon Buddha, a lifestyle clothing collection. Today, she designs clothing for both multimillion-dollar brands under the umbrella Shannon Passero Designs.<\/p>\n

High-end retailers such as Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus carry Passero\u2019s designs, along with more than 2,500 specialty stores in North America, Europe and Australia.<\/p>\n

Originally from Welland, Ont., Passero and her husband decided to put down roots and open a bricks and mortar store in Thorold to be close to their families.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Passero opened her first retail location in the Old Firehall (also named after its former life) down the street from The Post Office and now uses it as a design studio. Her style inspiration comes from being a working mom \u2014 all of her clothes are wash and wear.<\/p>\n

When the store outgrew the 800-square-foot fire hall, she moved into the 6,500-square-foot post office in August 2015. Both heritage buildings underwent extensive renovations to bring them up to modern building standards while preserving their historical character. \u201cThe community at large felt that this project was so important to Thorold and Niagara as a whole,\u201d says Passero.<\/p>\n

\"Fashion<\/a>Every item in the store reflects a commitment to sustainable production and respect for the workers who made it. Much of the knitwear is handmade in Thailand. The coconut-shell buttons are one of Passero\u2019s trademarks. \u201cThat was a way of differentiating ourselves in the market,\u201d says Passero, who is wearing a dress and tights from The Post Office and several necklaces from the store, two of which bear \u201cE\u201d and \u201cV\u201d pendants \u2014 the initials of her two daughters, Elizabeth, 2, and Victoria, 4.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the 2013 garment factory collapse that claimed the lives of more than 1,100 workers in Bangladesh, Pure Handknit and Neon Buddha have set themselves apart from other clothing lines. More than 6,000 people in Thailand have worked for Passero\u2019s collections over the past 18 years, all of them receiving a living wage, paid health care, including a maternity leave that\u2019s twice as long as the state standard, a daily hot meal, and English and Thai classes. Some of them have graduated with master\u2019s degrees; others have become the first generation in their families to send their children to university. A large number of her managers are female, a rarity in the clothing industry, she says.<\/p>\n

The manufacturing facilities are environmentally friendly, with energy efficient florescent light bulbs and a biomass power plant, which produces power and heat using recycled agricultural waste.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an entrepreneurial respect, you want to do business in a way that makes sense on many levels: having a product that you feel good about, having a product that\u2019s saleable and that\u2019s not leaving a huge imprint on the environment,\u201d she says of her business philosophy.<\/p>\n

She admits it\u2019s not easy to provide these benefits to her workers but that her time in Guelph, both as a student and as a resident for 10 years after graduation, influenced her mindset. She also praises consumers for becoming more aware of where their purchases come from and how they\u2019re made.<\/p>\n

Starting a business with a foreign supplier posed unique challenges, including cultural and language differences. Although most of her contacts in Thailand speak English, she finds they\u2019re reluctant to be critical. \u201cIn Southeast Asia, they don\u2019t like to use the word \u2018bad,\u2019\u201d says Passero, so she asks if a product is \u201cgood or not so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Passero recently received an honorary degree from Niagara College and was invited to speak at the school\u2019s 2016 convocation. Among her advice to graduands were to have \u201crespect for others\u201d and \u201cbe gentle to the Earth,\u201d which are the cornerstones of her business.<\/p>\n

She credits her own education at U of G for instilling an appreciation for sustainability. \u201cGuelph empowered us to feel like we could change things \u2014 that always stuck with me. There\u2019s a right way to do business and that\u2019s always stuck with me as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

She attributes much of her success to \u201cnot a lot of strategy, but a lot of luck.\u201d Her entrepreneurism started in high school, when she sold her own handmade creations at craft shows \u2013 she sold greeting cards at the Guelph Farmers\u2019 Market. Working for retail clothing stores pointed her towards a career in fashion.<\/p>\n

With the goal of helping other women entrepreneurs succeed, she launched the Shannon Passero Women in Business Grant in 2013. Two grants valued at $12,500 each are awarded annually to female entrepreneurs in Ontario who have been in business for at least three years and follow Passero\u2019s tenets of producing goods ethically and sustainably. \u201cI\u2019m amazed there\u2019s so much talent in Ontario, especially here in Niagara,\u201d she says, adding The Post Office carries many of the winners\u2019 products.<\/p>\n

Passero says even after more than two decades in business she\u2019s still learning. She wishes she’d had a mentor when she was starting out and now dedicates a few hours every Friday to mentoring others. \u201cThe need for women to mentor other women in business \u2014 we have to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bringing heritage buildings back to life<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The old fire hall and post office in Thorold, Ont., could have stood empty and in disrepair if it wasn\u2019t for the vision of local residents Shannon and Michael Passero, who saw retail potential in both buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to be part of restoring history,\u201d says Michael, BA \u201993. His family operates Silvergate Homes, which completed the restoration work.<\/p>\n

Under the Ontario Heritage Act, any renovations to a heritage building must be in keeping with its time period. Preserving a building\u2019s historical character while improving its energy efficiency is costly and time-consuming, but that didn\u2019t deter the couple. Michael\u2019s expertise in designing energy-efficient homes combined with Shannon\u2019s eye for design helped Thorold reclaim part of its historical identity.<\/p>\n

Once used to hang fire hoses to dry, the fire hall\u2019s bell tower is one of its most distinguishing features. In strong winds, the tower would sway, so the couple hired a structural engineer to reinforce it with internal bracing that was invisible from the outside. Layers of paint were removed from the window frames to reveal their original black colour, which was matched when they were repainted. Set against the red brick walls, the black window frames create a \u201cstriking contrast,\u201d says Michael.<\/p>\n

Built in 1935, the post office is clad in Queenston limestone. \u201cIt\u2019s such a beautiful stone,\u201d he says, and after a thorough cleaning, \u201cthe spark from the stone is back.\u201d The stone capping on the roof was painstakingly recreated using casts of the originals. Instead of replacing the windows, the couple had them reglazed and repaired. Each window was then inspected for historical integrity and energy efficiency. The elevator, with its top- and bottom-closing doors, was restored and is now used to move inventory. The vault in the basement had to be unlocked by a locksmith. \u201cIt took the locksmith two days to open it,\u201d says Michael.<\/p>\n

The restoration of the post office received a Niagara Community Design award and was featured in Heritage<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shannon Passero’s flourishing textile and design company is sustainable, ethical and profitable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[156,160,159,157,155,158],"yoast_head":"\nDesigning woman -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Designing woman -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shannon Passero’s flourishing textile and design company is sustainable, ethical and profitable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-25T14:21:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3072_porticoPASSERO_46.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1183\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"787\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Portico Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3072_porticoPASSERO_46.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3072_porticoPASSERO_46.jpg\",\"width\":1183,\"height\":787,\"caption\":\"Shannon Passero works in her design studio in Thorold, Ontario.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/\",\"name\":\"Designing woman -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-25T14:21:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Designing woman\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533\",\"name\":\"Portico Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Portico Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Designing woman -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Designing woman -","og_description":"Shannon Passero’s flourishing textile and design company is sustainable, ethical and profitable","og_url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/","article_published_time":"2016-07-25T14:21:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1183,"height":787,"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3072_porticoPASSERO_46.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Portico Staff","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3072_porticoPASSERO_46.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3072_porticoPASSERO_46.jpg","width":1183,"height":787,"caption":"Shannon Passero works in her design studio in Thorold, Ontario."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/","name":"Designing woman -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2016-07-25T14:21:12+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/shannon-passeros-flourishing-textile-and-design-company\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Designing woman"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533","name":"Portico Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Portico Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1427"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1620,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1427\/revisions\/1620"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}