Shop watch: Ukamaku, online purveyor of Canadian fashion designs
Designer labels like Prada, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana roll easily off the tongues of the average Canadian fashion enthusiast but less so names like Breeyn McCarney, Zoran Dobric, Heidi Ackerman and Nella Bella. Toronto-based online store and community Ukamaku (ukamaku.com) hopes to change that.
The one-stop Canadian fashion retailer was conceived by George Ng, who felt that up-and-coming Canadian fashion designers needed a little help marketing their products to consumers. “We thought, lets make a website that brings in all the designers and reduces the cost of marketing,” said Ng. “At the same time we’ll use our skills, that are more towards the marketing side, to help them on that so the designers don’t have to focus on advertising, marketing or even shipping.”
Ukamaku is hosting its Christmas Pop-up Shop today and tomorrow in the Yorkville Room at the Hazelton hotel (118 Yorkville Ave.) from 11:00AM to 6:30PM. Stop by for designs from Jessica Jensen, Ashley Rowe, Darlene Martin, Carrie Hayes, Zoran Dobric and Véronique Miljkovitch.