Meet the Guelph boutique owner uplifting others through art and fashion

EMILY BRAY

For Denise Mansur, art is about more than just aesthetics; it’s about providing people with a space to express themselves and giving them the tools to thrive. This is reflected in all facets of Mansur’s downtown boutique, Ms. Meri Mak, where BIPOC art is spotlighted and ethical sourcing is top priority.

Ms. Meri Mak opened its doors for the first time in the summer of 2021. Since then, it has become a local favourite amongst lovers of art and fashion in Guelph. The shop features a diverse collection of art pieces, clothing, accessories, and even handmade children’s dolls. There is something for nearly everyone who walks through the door.

Better yet, shoppers will know that there’s no buyer’s remorse here, as they’ll be supporting a shop committed to improving lives within the Guelph community and beyond.

Ms. Meri Mak is dedicated to showcasing and supporting small visual artists and fashion designers who wouldn’t normally have the opportunities to get their work exhibited—namely artists of colour.

Mansur works with both local and international BIPOC artists to help them gain exposure for their creations. She displays their work in the store where customers can view and purchase it.

Mansur says that her desire to spotlight BIPOC art was heavily influenced by her mother’s experiences in the world of art and fashion. Despite being a talented artist and designer, Mansur’s mother never had any opportunities to have her work seen and appreciated.

“Seeing her dealing with that is what motivated me to work with artists of colour, especially when it comes to showcasing art in the store,” said Mansur. “I think it’s important because [artists of colour] don’t really have that platform. We either don’t know how to access it or people are just not interested in it.”

“A lot of times when it comes to people of colour—especially women of colour—their art doesn’t get showcased. Sometimes it does for Black History Month, and then the interest kind of goes away. But in my store, it will always be here, and people will be able to purchase it and support the artists.”

Mansur’s efforts are clearly

paying off, as she’s successfully helped small up-and-coming artists such as Jaihan Dean (@jn_cd on Instagram) get their work noticed. Three of Dean’s original art pieces were bought by customers while on display in the boutique.

However, Mansur’s commitment to uplifting and supporting others doesn’t end with her promotion of small artists. She’s also dedicated to supporting ethical fashion production and reducing exploitation in the fashion industry—an issue that she believes many people don’t pay enough attention to in our current era of fast fashion and hyper-consumption.

Mansur references the popular fashion retailer Shein as an example of how normalized human rights abuses have become within the fashion industry.

Earlier this year, Shein was the subject of a report by Swiss human rights watchdog Public Eye, which revealed that workers at a Shein production factory in Guangzhou, China were being subjected to inhumane working conditions that violated Chinese labour laws. The report also showed that workers were receiving meager pay for 75-hour work weeks.

Yet even after this exploitation was made public, the company has continued to earn millions of dollars in sales every month. Worse yet, Shein is just one of the many fast fashion corporations that have been dominating the industry in recent years.

“When it comes to companies like Shein, yeah you’re getting a deal, but you’re exploiting someone to get that deal,” she said. “I think we really need to start humanizing art and fashion and clothing production.”

According to Mansur, this begins with providing artists, designers, and workers with proper compensation for their work.

Mansur does this at Ms. Meri Mak by working directly with artists to set prices. “I’m not just marking up a t-shirt 85 per cent to make a profit. When you come in [to Ms. Meri Mak], you know that that t-shirt has been designed by an artist and that the artist is being paid fairly for it.”

Mansur also works with ethical international producers such as Mama Trade, an organization that supports mothers and widows in Ghana by providing them with the opportunity to sell their work at fair prices. The women are paid a living wage to make items such as handbags and natural bodycare products, which are then sold in the boutique.

When buying Mama Trade products, customers know that “the person that made this is actually getting a fair wage, and their life is being changed by this.”

“This is not a situation where they’re being paid three dollars to produce a bag,” said Mansur. “When you buy a bag here for 100 dollars, you know that 50 of those dollars are going to the person who actually made it, which changes everything for them. Their kids can go to school and they can have a good quality of life.”

Overall, Mansur emphasizes the importance of stopping to think about our purchases and prioritizing quality and humanity over quantity.

As for the future of Ms. Meri Mak, Mansur plans to continue building up the shop as a positive force within the community. As a Black-owned, woman-owned, and LGBTQ+ friendly business, Ms. Meri Mak is setting a vital example for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs both within Guelph and beyond.

“It’s important for me to have this store,” Mansur said. “I get so many messages from people telling me that they’re so inspired [by Ms. Meri Mak]. My presence here is really important.”

“I want to grow Ms. Meri Mak into a community where everyone feels safe and everyone understands that this is a place that has zero tolerance for any type of hate or bigotry. I want to be a welcoming space that’s known in Guelph—for everyone to know Ms. Meri Mak, what it is, and what it stands for.”