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Popular outdoor apparel company opening pop-up shop in Orillia

'I have some truly die-hard customers,' says owner of Made For The Lake Co.; 'I’m very excited to meet people that I only know essentially by their Instagram handles or names'
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Jackie Saik, owner of Made For The Lake Co., is opening a pop-up shop in downtown Orillia this weekend.

Made For The Lake Co., a popular online clothing retailer, is opening a pop-up shop in Orillia on Saturday. 

In the shipping container beside The Lone Wolf Café on Matchedash Street South, owner Jackie Saik will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with her clothing brand that has taken off over the past two years.

The Oakville native and Orillia resident started her business in 2018. She sells lake-themed and outdoor apparel, kids’ apparel, hats, toques, maps, and other goods.

Saik, 34, says her motivation for starting the business came from her desire to move away from the city and spend more time at her cottage in Muskoka.

“I wanted to eventually have a job that would be themed around how much I love my cottage, the lake, and being outside,” she said.

Saik started her business out of her home in Orillia before moving it to a garage in Port Severn. Just recently, she was able to move the business back to Orillia into a "real" office and warehouse space.

The success of Saik’s business has been built around the way her apparel "captures the ambience" of being outside, at the cottage, and on the lake.

“I have fishing-themed stuff, I have drinking beers around the bonfire-themed stuff, I have snowmobiling-themed stuff, and I have camping-themed things,” she said. “I have a lot of different categories that people love about being outside.”

While most locally-owned businesses faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Made For The Lake Co. began to take off during that time.

“People were shopping online so much more,” Saik explained. “People wanted to support small businesses a lot and were spending more time at their cottage.”

In 2020, Saik was able to run her business without the help of any side jobs for the first time. Now, she is working hard alongside a part-time employee to carve out a career with her brand.

“I hope I have it for a long time,” she said. “I would love to explore the idea of an actual store and to be able to hire more people.”

Saik is looking forward to interacting with her loyal customers this weekend as well as making some new ones.

“It’s the first time since 2019 that people will be able to shop mainly in person,” she said. “I haven’t done a market since then.”

Visitors will be able to enjoy the fire pit outside the store as well as complimentary cookies from Coco’s Cookies, stickers, and Red Bull.

“I have some truly die-hard customers,” Saik said. “I’m very excited to meet people that I only know essentially by their Instagram handles or names.”

If the single-day pop-up shop is a success, Saik would love to do more throughout the year.

“I could see myself doing one in the spring and one in the summer during one of the big harbourfront events that happen in Orillia,” she said. “I think it could be great.”


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Tyler Evans

About the Author: Tyler Evans

Tyler Evans got his start in the news business when he was just 15-years-old and now serves as a video producer and reporter with OrilliaMatters
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