Spotlight: Small Business Photo Tour with The Glossary

Oct 20, 20183 min read

A few weeks ago I joined The Glossary on a Small Business Photo Tour of Boston's South End. The Glossary is a community dedicated to supporting and empowering women led by Mandy Lancia. Mandy frequently produces events to bring creative women together with local women-owned businesses; one of those events being the Small Business Photo Tour. I missed last year's tour, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend this time around!

On this tour I met an incredible group of women and got a chance to learn more about some great local businesses. Along with Mandy, I met Madeline (a kick-ass photographer), Regina (creator and owner of Zirui), Mary (an innovative problem-solver for the NEVCA), Lauren (another kick-ass photographer), and Alexandra (founder of Layered Onion). We got to visit and learn more about some beautiful women-owned businesses on Tremont Street in the South End such as [FoMu], Olives & Grace, Third Piece, Niche, and Frenchie. So without further ado, here are my photos from the tour with a little something I learned at each stop!

[FoMu]

[FoMu] is an all-natural, made-from-scratch ice cream/dessert spot with a handful of locations around Boston. They're completely dedicated to using organic, plant-based ingredients, sustainability, and unique flavor options to satisfy any diet. It's the least guilty I've been to go have some ice cream, and I appreciate that you don't have to sacrifice flavor for it here. I tried their Fresh Mint Chunk and it did not disappoint! It was a great way to kickstart the tour and get to know everyone over some tasty treats.

Olives & Grace

Olives & Grace was our next stop, and as their tagline suggests, they represent makers. The store is filled with beautifully curated, handmade goods that each have a story of their own. I could find an item here for any room in my house, or that any one of my friends would enjoy. I love that Olives & Grace is focused on supporting and enriching the community, it was such a perfect fit for the tour!

Third Piece

Third Piece is the place every knitter/crafter DREAMS of. Created to support professional and aspiring knitters alike, there's something for everyone here. Third Piece employs a team of expert knitters that not only sell their own handmade pieces, but offer workshops and the ability for anyone to make patterns themselves. I loved how welcoming the ladies of Third Piece were - as someone who's tried their hand at knitting and could never quite get the hang of it, I'd trust that they could show me the way. They're not just knitting blankets and scarves here, either - you can purchase or make your own fashionable pieces. It was great to learn about such a fantastic place for crafters - not to mention I had a field day taking photos as their store's design is incredible!

Niche

Niche is one of my favorite boutiques and I can't help but buy a few new plant friends at each visit. I was so excited to visit their South Boston location as I hadn't been there yet. This is the original location and it has so much character (and plant life) packed into it. I love Niche because I know I can walk in and find exactly the plant I'm looking for, and I'll walk out having learned something new about plant care. I'm not afraid to admit that before I started shopping at Niche I could barely keep a single plant alive - now I'm a pretty decent plant mom. I appreciate how knowledgable and caring everyone at Niche is about their craft - thank you for feeding my newfound addiction!

Frenchie

We ended our tour at Frenchie, which is essentially the complete package to get your Sunday brunch on. The decor is so well done, and it's hard to choose what to order because everything is the best you've ever had. I'll try not to hype this up too much, but do yourself a favor and get to Frenchie at your earliest convenience.

After the group had their fill of coffee, incredible desserts, and getting to know each other Madeline was nice enough to sit down with each of us and take our portraits. The tour was the best way to spend a Sunday and I loved having the opportunity to learn about local businesses, and to meet and form a closer bond with some really special women in our community. Thank you so much to Mandy and Madeline for putting together such a special day for us!