Shopping in St. Albert

Housed in a homey storefront space, The Frame Corner helps visitors preserve their favourite keepsakes, photos, and works of art. A vast selection of sample frames is on hand to inspire, and the store uses hand-cut mats to accent your artwork attractively. An array of needlepoint patterns and accessories can be used for stitching projects, and gifts for sale include sterling-silver jewellery, holiday decor, and other items. The shop also hosts regular stitching workshops and gatherings of the Needle Bugs sewing circle.

Windsor Plywood got its start in 1969 as a warehouse that specialized in supplying plywood for contractors and DIY-ers in northern Vancouver. Today, the company has expanded to supply western Canada and Washington with home-improvement and building supplies at 57 locations. Cuts of lumber, including spruce, aspen, and fragrant cedar, build sturdy walls or protective fences around freshly baked pies. Hardwoods, tiles, or laminate coverings pave interior floors, and Cloverdale paints help homeowners customize hues in every room. Windsor Plywood also stocks outdoor furniture and interior hardware, including doors in a plethora of sizes and styles.

Identity Clothing founder Kelly Noland has fashion coursing through his veins. He began his career by helping his mother in her shop, Lord’s Shoes in Southgate Shopping Centre, at the age of 13. When he was 17, he hit the road, travelling and buying shoes for the shoe shop. While his sister embarked on her own fashion quest by opening a Lord’s location in South Granville, he veered toward clothing worn above the ankle. Now the master of his own domain, Kelly and his staff maintain a stock of trendy items geared toward men and women in their 20s, with shirts, dresses, and pants from such designers as William Rast, Joe’s Jeans, and Selected. Staff tailors also provide two- to three-day tailoring services, getting customers into their new clothing before a night on the town or a chandelier-store shopping spree. To ensure customers have a choice in clothing from head to toe, Kelly’s shop also houses a Lord’s Shoes section.

Seven-feet wide, 30-feet deep. Those were the pocket-sized dimensions of the original Wee Book Inn–and the reason for its name. Established on Whyte Avenue in 1971 by Edmonton native Darwin Luxford, that first shop spawned four additional locations during the 1980s, making space for an ever-growing selection of books and media.

In December 1990, disastrous fires destroyed two Wee Book Inns, including the flagship shop on Whyte Avenue. Within two years, however, both locations were rebuilt, restocked, and back in business. Today, Wee Book's roster of shops continues to do what it's done for more than four decades: buy and sell lightly used books and media, adjusting always to keep pace with the times. Inside, visitors may run into Wee Book's cats, as well, each of who bares the name of a former professional hockey player.