Featured Business
Queen Bee Millinery is a one of a kind millinery and boutique located in the center of the historic Heritage Downtown of Perth, Ontario.
After decades of developing a love for hats and formal wear by attending military ceremonial events, garden parties and formal evening dinners with her spouse, Ranelle Larocque, the owner and milliner of Queen Bee Millinery, turned her passion into a creative fashion business in 2019. Starting out as an online business, she has filled orders from around the world and has specialized in providing the perfect accessory from her ever changing inventory of one-of-a-kind designs or by creating bespoke wearable art for customized orders. Hats and fascinators designed and hand made by Ranelle have been worn at events such as the Queen’s Birthday Garden Party in London, UK, the Royal Ascot, the Kentucky Derby, and at countless Canadian and international military ceremonial events around the world.
Ranelle has been a fashion enthusiast from a very young age, when she designed and wore her own clothing, using the old Singer sewing machine that her grandfather showed her how to operate. Having lived all across Canada as well as spending several years in the Netherlands and Italy, she has developed an approach to fashion that is unique, classic, and nested in the European fashion history of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By contemporizing styles of the past to adapt to the unique style of potential clients, she has crafted products that have inspired beauty, boldness and self-confidence in those who have worn her art.
Switching from online to a storefront boutique at 16 Gore St East in Perth, Ontario, Ranelle was ready to open the
doors just as the first lockdowns were put into place in March of 2020. Despite this potential setback, Ranelle dedicated her time to hone her craft, and to connect with her new found community of local business owners. Through these connections, she has seen a resiliency in the local business retail sector that is and continues to be inspiring. Every day she feels the love and support from the community and from organizations like the Small Business Advisory Centre, whose encouragement and personal attention during this crisis has been invaluable.
As we all wait patiently for things to open up again, Ranelle is busy connecting with customers online and is operating within the guidelines to offer curbside service until the health protection measures change. You can follow her on Facebook (facebook.com/QueenBeeMillinery) or Instagram (instagram.com/queenbeemillinery) and she will be launching her website soon at www.queenbeemillinery.ca, where you will be able see all of her creations, learn more about the art of millinery and shop online for the perfect hat for your next special occasion.
She stated: “If it wasn’t for the Centre and the things she learned in Starter Company Program she doesn’t know if she would have been strong enough to get through this first year especially in the midst of a pandemic. These government programs are absolutely vital, greatly appreciated and so important to the small business community.”
Ranelle is full of hope and optimism as she looks to the future and is looking forward to once again welcoming everyone back to Queen Bee Millinery.
Queen Bee Millinery
16 Gore St. East
Perth, ON K7H 1H5
