I may be a geriatric millennial (80s baby), but I do appreciate the maximalist Gen Z aesthetic. Bold, eclectic, colourful and expressive are ways to describe my taste. So perhaps that is why my eyes light up when I stop into a new shop, Lazy Daisies, at 227 Princess street to interview the founder and owner, Josée Sabourin.

The pink and yellow colour-blocked walls frame the space filled with bold, decorative and functional items. It takes everything in me not to pick up, pet or examine multiple items while I walk through the space before sitting down to learn more about Sabourin and the story behind her new venture.

Sabourin’s story is similar to many locals, she found herself settled in Kingston after her partner landed a job during the pandemic. Originally from Northern Ontario, Sabourin went to school in Montreal and fell in love with the many great shops there. Years later, after establishing her career, she found herself thinking a little more about how great it would be to have the brands she fell in love with in Montreal right here at her fingertips, locally.

Local entrepreneurship is often made from this passion to fill a gap that business owners are personally impacted by and Sabourin’s story is no different. Sabourin shares, “When we moved here I had thought to myself, ‘There is nowhere to decorate my apartment that isn’t a chain.’ Especially coming from Montreal, I had all these stores in mind that I would always go back to. I couldn’t find anywhere cute. And I would go to Montreal and find things that would be hyper breakable and wouldn’t survive the trip. And then I thought ‘could I do that? Can I bring it to Kingston?’ I decided that yeah, I could.” And so she did.

Sabourin asked herself this question in the late spring/early summer of 2024 and was soon lining up the logistics of her future shop. “In May or June I reached out to local businesses to ask about their experience of owning a business downtown. Even from then, people were willing to help, which was amazing. Then I started moodboarding and started the Pinterest board of my dreams.and started to reach out to suppliers and started to reach out on spaces as well,” she says.

To say things moved swiftly after getting into the building in August would be an understatement. With the help of her dedicated and talented family, they transformed a former construction break space into its current, dreamy state and opened the doors in under a month. “We did it all in three weeks. My dad built this [pats counter] and the tables in the middle. He came and helped us get the minor construction stuff done. My partner was a painter for years, so he painted everything, My mom painted the shelves and furniture. I was able to have people who were willing and eager to help.”

Now shoppers can find perfect gifts like scented candles or glassware or things for themselves like the tough but beautiful gradient puzzles or Blume cloud mugs. There is something for everyone.

Sabourin shares a bit about the items, “I am trying to get a good mix of Canadian things, local things but also really beautiful things like the glassware that’s from Australia and hand-blown. If I could find that locally, I would love to have it. But I also want a good variety of products.”