In the heart of downtown Kingston are two beloved retail stores celebrating 50 years of business, The Roundstone and Fancy That. The stores are run by the dynamic trio: sisters, Amanda, Alix, and their mother, Maria. 

This is a story about a family of three generations that never threw in the towel- not through two recessions, a global pandemic, or an ever-changing retail landscape. They constantly evolved over the years to find the sweet spot they’re in today: with two popular stores they’re proud of and a vast community of loyal customers.

If you’ve visited the stores on the corner of Princess and King Street, you know they carry stylish and timeless European-inspired fashion, each store with its own unique style. Fancy That, run by Amanda, carries fun, quality-conscious, on-trend pieces that tend to catch the eyes of millennial women. The Roundstone, run by Maria, caters to more mature and stylish women, offering higher-end pieces.  

It all began with Alix and Amanda’s grandmother (MorMor), who started the family legacy in 1974 when she emigrated from Sweden and opened Limestone and Ivy, a European-inspired shoe store based in Brockville. 

5 years later, Fancy That was born at the Frontenac Mall here in Kingston. Maria worked with her mother for years at the stores until taking over Fancy That in 1985 when she introduced women’s clothing in addition to shoes, and moved the store to where it is today in downtown Kingston. 

And Maria, the force of nature that she is, didn’t stop there. At one point, she had nine stores in surrounding towns, like Peterborough and Trenton. Today, it’s only their Kingston and Brockville location, Limestone & Ivy, that remain.

So you may be asking yourself, what is the secret to such a long stint in business, in an industry that seems impossible to keep up with?

The family attributes their success to paying close attention to their customer’s needs while not being afraid to evolve and reshape over the years. You can see their evolution in the blueprints of their offerings over the years- from shoes, to men’s clothing, to children’s attire, to finally focusing on women’s fashion- all as a result of their customer’s ever-changing needs. 

I guess that’s an advantage of having a following that’s been loyal to you for generations- you get to know them pretty well. Eventually, you get to know their children, and even grandchildren, too. The Roundstone and Fancy That have done something not a lot of businesses do successfully, they’ve built a community that’s lasted generations- a community that all three women consider to be part of their family. 

An integral part of that community is their staff, some of whom have worked at Fancy That or The Roundstone for 10 to 20 years.

You may think that the family’s success would tear them apart, but evidently, it’s done the opposite. Watching the women get lost in stories from over the years, boasting of one another’s successes, gleaming with such pride in what their family has built. You can tell they’ve mastered the family-in-business thing, with each woman playing their own integral role in the business’s success. 

Amanda is the creative force who launched their e-commerce website and spearheads the social media. She does a lot of the buying for the stores and made Fancy That her baby, in which you can see her own comfortable, sustainable style reflected.

Alix is the mastermind behind the scenes who holds the ship together. With an MBA from RMC, her expertise is in admin, finances, and office management. 

And Maria, of course, is the visionary behind it all who focuses her attention on The Roundstone and managing relationships with their buyers. “Mom’s like our hype woman who cheers us on and gives the store the life that it needs,” Says Amanda.

The girls grew up in the stores, first in diapers as babies, then in name tags as employees. While they ventured down different paths after graduation – Alix at Queen's University and Amanda as a teacher like her mother – the sisters found themselves drawn back to their roots during the pandemic.

Alix says that when she had her daughter not long ago, it all set in that this could be a four-generation legacy, “These stores could be in the family for 100 years or more.” 

Amanda adds, “Our family has always known that we were building more than a business, we were building a story- a story we’ve always welcomed our customers and community to be a part of.