Harlow Crestwood

Lauren Gillis would be hard-pressed to call Harlow Crestwood a gift shop. With jewellery, handbags and home decor taking up a fraction of the shelf space in the store, Lauren believes a more contemporary colloquialism is apt. “They tend to call stores like ours lifestyle boutiques,” she says.

So what's in a term anyway? It sure doesn't change the type of inventory that Lauren's mother Sandy orders ever since she started Harlow's predecessor, Lyndale Accents, back in 2000. Even from the start, Lyndale had a reputation for stocking unique accessories and gifts, from Sid Dickens tiles and S'well Bottles water bottles to Matt & Nat handbags and Voluspa candles.

Harlow High Street was opened in 2014, occupying a palatial strip mall on 102 Avenue near downtown. But in 2016, Sandy decided to merge the shop with Lyndale Accents in Crestwood Mall.