Shop Talk is written by OM senior editor Dayanti Karunaratne and Sarah Fischer, OM account executive and fashion maven.

Last week, we brought you news of retail changes in the trendy shopping districts of Westboro/Wellington West. This week, we turn our eyes to the ByWard Market. On the tony strip of Sussex Drive, any murmurings of change generally involve speculation of how the National Capital Commission, being the landlord for many of these storefronts, might have played a role.  Us, we aren’t even going to speculate! Sometimes we ask interview subjects about the reasons for closing or the ins and out of their lease agreements. But no one wants to talk about the NCC. Any anyway, there’s enough to talk about this spring, and many new spaces to explore.

Mellow closes
457 Sussex Dr.
We spoke with the Montreal-based designer behind this unique line last summer. Since then, they have closed shop. (Insert speculative gossip.)  Apparently, they are looking for another location in Ottawa because they were having such success. We loved what they did with the Sussex space — let’s hope they bring their minimalist-industrial style to another storefront soon.

Stunning opens
6 York St.
Mandy Gosewich, former manager of Michael Kors in the Rideau Centre, is opening Stunning, a shop for “accessories, and then some.” We hear May 22 is the opening date. Mandy comes from a long line of retailers, and has contributed to the development of a couple other local boutiques in the past year. So far she’s planning on bringing in Sibilia from Buenos Aries, By Boe from New York, Rita D from Toronto, and Charlotte Hosten from Montreal. (more…)