CARSTAIRS - The sun will soon be setting on longtime business The Only One Under the Sun in Carstairs.
The clothing and knick-knack store is closing on Aug. 31 after nearly 20 years of business in the same location as owner-operator Shirley Colby retires.
Colby said that after 20 years there and 10 years before that operating a video store in Carstairs, it's time to step down.
"This has been the best job I've ever had," said Colby. "It's been lots of fun. There's hardly anything wrong with this because people coming in are always happy. Women always love to shop so they're always happy coming into a gift and clothing store. I'll miss that part of it."
Before opening The Only One Under the Sun, Colby operated Carstairs Video Vision, which sold and rented movies and games. She was also the local agent for Sears, which she ran out of the back of the store.
"I had a teeny little gift store in the back of my video store with Sears in it," she said. "It was so much fun that I said that's what I want to do from now on. So I sold the shelves and videos and everything."
After starting her shop on Osler Street, Colby named it The Only One Under the Sun because she would bring in unique items to sell.
"When I first started, and the reason for the name, I had a lot of handcrafted items that were one of a kind," she said. "I had furniture and a lot of the dried swag they put on the walls. I had aprons and pot holders. All handcrafted."
After attending a number of gift shows, she discovered she could make more money with buying stuff wholesale than selling someone else's homemade items.
"I did that for 10 years before selling clothing," she said. "After we built on to the building I added clothing. Then it was about half clothing, half giftware. I did really well for a long time, maybe 17 years. It was fun and profitable."
When the oil and gas industry started to decline a couple of years ago, the store began to feel the pinch, said Colby.
"It was a lot easier to make a go of it in business back then," she said. "I'm not saying it's impossible now. If you have the right mix of stuff you can still do well."
Colby said she will miss seeing the look on people's faces when they come into the store for the first time.
"I'll miss people's first reactions when they come in the door," she said. "A lot of people say, 'why haven't I heard of this store before?' They get all excited about what's in it. That was also fun. It's fun to go on buying trips, but it's more fun to see people react to what you bought."
Colby will also miss doing the fashion shows, which in recent years have benefited the Mountain View Food Bank.
"I've had fashion shows since I sold clothes," she said. "That was a lot of fun. I've done it for about 10 years at different events. The last two years I had my own. I had the same models for many years. Kids my daughter went to school with."
Colby said the fashion shows were always a great way to build interest in the store.
"It was a great way to show people how good the clothes look when they're on because it's hard to tell when they're on the hanger," she said. "It's a way better way to showcase it; and when you serve wine women have more fun; and when they shop with other women they have more fun."
Colby and her husband, longtime Carstairs mayor Lance Colby, have lived in Carstairs for 37 years. The two recently celebrated their 49th anniversary.
Colby said she plans on staying in the area after retiring and spending more time enjoying cooking and visiting their 11 grandchildren. She enjoys how nice everyone is.
"When I was a Sears agent I knew probably half the people in town," she said. "I'd see their names written on a package. I'd meet the people. It was a really good draw for people to come to Sears and then they'd shop in my store. Once I got into business I got to know a lot of people."
She is definitely looking forward to having more time to herself.
"I'm going to cook things that don't only take 20 minutes because I'd be getting home late," she said. "I'll go see the grandkids. They're too far away to just drop in and babysit. So it'll be nice to go visit more. I also want to travel and not have to pay wages when I'm gone, which will be nice. We go to Mexico in the winter but only for two weeks. Now we'll be able to go for longer and make more plans."
Colby said the store will stay open until Aug. 31 unless she sells out completely before then. She is hoping to rent out the space to another business.
