Clare McNaul, owner, chief shop girl... and bottle washer! (over there on the left)

Clare opened her very first store on her front veranda when she was five years old providing a job for each of the neighbourhood children whether they wanted one or not. Creating a working time machine at seven enabled Clare to visit previous decades which helped to cultivate her love of thrifting and recycled fashion. After pretending to be an adult for a while she opened her first “real” store ( …And Venus Smiled) at age 38. It has been ten years now and she’s still tickled pink with the whole thing. She openly admits to several seemingly incurable addictions which include collecting vintage lamps with dangly thingies, lampshades with fringes and anything with leopard print on it. Oh yeah - she also absolutely must go into every thrift, consignment, vintage and secondhand store that she sees.

The other ...And Venus Smiled Shop Girls  

Hand picked by Clare for a capital "PA" positive attitude, our team of shop girls is a multi-talented group that bring their own individual and often quirky sense of style and personality to the store building relationships with our customers and maintaining the atmosphere that keeps ...And Venus Smiled thriving both as a neighbourhood resource and as a destination shop nestled in the heart of downtown Guelph.   

...And Venus Smiled makes the news: Read the recent article in the Guelph Mercury on Consignment Shopping 

And this one from March 2008