Did you know Ponoka is home to an internationally renowned business? Busted Ladies Lingerie has just been nominated for an Intima Award for best lingerie shop in North America!
“Hollywood has the Oscars, and lingerie has the Intimas,” says store co-owner Sherry Gummow. “I’ve been following the Best of Intima Awards for over 10 years, so to be nominated by the jury is a real honour.”
The Intima Awards recognize the best independent retailers in the intimate apparel industry across North America, and this year’s awards will be handed out in a ceremony on Aug. 2. With Busted Ladies’ impressive selection, knowledgeable staff and incredible customer service, the Intima jury found lots to love.
“Our goal has always been to help women feel supported. That means feeling sexy, confident and comfortable,” Gummow says. With 12 years of steady growth, the central Alberta store must be doing something right.
Flexible support in uncertain times
Busted Ladies is proud to carry sizes well beyond the typical selection in a big box store, and Gummow and her staff take care to build trust with every customer for a supportive, stylish fit. Gummow believes it’s a big part of the store’s success. She’s also passionate about helping women feel like they belong, from the 30A who’d been told to shop in the children’s section, to the 44O who can’t wait to flaunt some lace.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the bra and sleepwear store has closed to the public but stayed busy with curbside pick-up, front porch deliveries and shipping by mail. Help is available to find your size via virtual fitting, and you can browse the online store (a work in progress) for hard-to-find sizes.
“We’re doing our level best and looking forward to having everyone back,” Gummow says.
Every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. you can join Gummow for a Facebook Live to feel connected, have fun, and learn about lingerie.
“Some people do closet clean-outs, well we did a lingerie drawer clean-out. It was a lot of fun!” Gummow says.
Connecting Virtually
Busted Ladies is known for big city selection and small town service, and has built up an international clientele through customer referrals.
“We’re a small town so it’s important to draw outside visitors. We’ve held special functions at the store during town events like stampede and other tournaments, but with most of those events cancelled this summer we’re going to have to keep reinventing ourselves.”
Keep an eye on the Busted Ladies Facebook page and bustedlingerie.ca for the latest news, and learn how Gummow plans to build community — even in isolation.