With weddings, graduations and proms being cancelled or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some clothing businesses are taking a hit.
That’s why Tammy Dore decided to get creative and find a way to draw attention to those businesses now that they’ve reopened.
Dore, who owns Shadows Salon with her photographer husband, Ron Hill, also organizes the Somniatis wearable-art show, a fundraiser to support mental health services at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
That event — originally scheduled for November but now pushed to May 2021 — enjoyed the support of local businesses, including Dapper Depot, owned by Steve Orr, and Fashion Therapy, owned by Nancy Nevala.
“They were so good to me, supporting Somniatis, and I just wanted to give back,” Dore said. “Nancy and Steve are such supporters in the community for so many events. They’re amazing people.”
So, Dore put her hairstyling skills to use on her daughter, Piper Hill, and her daughter’s boyfriend, Jayden Brown, and Ron Hill took the photos. They called it the Social Dis-Stance Event.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got two models living here, so I’m not breaking the (physical distancing) bubble,’” she said.
Her daughter and Brown were fitted at Fashion Therapy and Dapper Depot, respectively, and then posed for the photos, which include promotion of the two Orillia businesses and props Dore borrowed from Donald Porter’s Geneva Event Centre.
She is hoping it encourages people to shop locally, but she also sees it as an opportunity for families to mark special occasions like graduations.
“They can still spend the money to dress their kids up and surprise them with something like that. Not all families can, but some can and they can still celebrate those once-in-a-lifetime moments,” she said. “These are strange times and I feel like the community supporting the community is the best thing we can do.”
