Autumn Grossutti, owner and operator of Betty’z Edje Boutique, has been involved with fashion in some way, shape, or form since she was little.
At the age of 12 she started selling hand-made jewellery. Now at the age of 35 she has taken that passion to become one of Kootenay Business’s top 40 business owners under 40.
When searching for the right career, Grossutti knew she didn’t want to work for someone else, and she wanted to have the availability to be there for her daughter after school.
“I had been going to a career counsellor since I was 18, at the Work BC office, and I had talked both to Susan Gustafson and Margaret Driscoll a bunch of times about my ideas over the years,” she said. “Finally Margaret was like ‘What are you waiting for? Why don’t you do it? I can’t wait to shop in this place you’re telling me about.’ From that moment to when I was opened was about a year.”
The official opening date for Betty’z Edje was June 30, 2014. Originally the business was run out of the front of her home, but is now near the hub of downtown Nakusp, next to the Leland Hotel.
Coming up with a name for a business can be difficult. For Grossutti inspiration came when she noticed there were many hardcore women throughout history who bore the name ‘Betty.’
“Betty Paige, Betty White, Betty Frieden, Bette Davis, there were a lot of women named Betty that were bold and not afraid to step over lines or outside of boxes that they were supposed to be in and I thought that that was pretty cool,” she said. “I think those kind of women are bad ass.”
One thing Grossutti likes to do is support local artists and designers. She estimates about 65 per cent of her stock is from makers in and around the province.
Reaction from the community has been very good, with customers giving much positive feedback about the store.
She isn’t sure where the road will lead her, but Grossutti feels that for now her place is in Nakusp. Though there were some bumps along the way she’s glad to be where she is.
“There were moments when I wanted to break down and cry and take my credit card and run away from here, shut all my doors and leave, both times,” she concluded. “It was really stressful but so gratifying and amazing too, watching something you created get reaction from people when they walk in your store. People loving what you created is a really good feeling.”