When Ida Cirillo started Pretty Fly co., it was a passion project that quickly turned into something that was missing in Thunder Bay.
“I wanted it to feel unlike something you’d see in Thunder Bay. People love it. It’s creative, they love the vibe, it smells good in there,” Cirillo says about the response and feedback since opening in 2020.
After some delays and powering through COVID-19, Pretty Fly co. hosted and participated in pop-ups before opening the doors to the brick and mortar at 198 ½ Algoma Street South in the Bay and Algoma neighbourhood August 2020.
With up to 50 – 100 vendors, mostly women-owned, Cirillo has created an all-inclusive space for her vendors and customers.
A fly beginning
After graduating high school and taking the travel and tourism program, Cirillo began working under Matt Wilkins at Cheese Encounter.
“[Matt] showed me that it wasn’t as hard [owning a business] as I thought it was going to be because he gave me the opportunity to run his business when he wasn’t there and I was fine and thought, OK maybe I can do this.”
Shortly after she rented the space next to Cheese Encounter and her passion project became reality.
“I had tried [to open a business] a few times previous to this but I was too young, no one took me seriously as a woman, a young woman, so I never pursued it until I had the experience I had.”
Cirillo says a lot of her friends were involved, from helping with the beginning stages to now. Even the shelves were built by Tok Tok Home, a local furniture brand that designs sustainable furniture.
Here to stay fly
As the sole owner, curator, and social media manager, Cirillo’s job involves every aspect of Pretty Fly co.
Even the name was a creative invention over an evening of wine that brings in new customers just from the name and logo, a fly.
“I wanted to make it edgy and fun.”
What began as a project stemmed from passion, Pretty Fly co. is bringing opportunity to small business owners and customers alike.
“People really love the store which blows my mind a little bit because I’m like, I did this? People like this?”
Cirillo did do this and is proud to share Pretty Fly co. with Thunder Bay, giving everyone the chance to experience a place unlike anything the community has seen before.
