Rachel Perry has been hit with challenges ever since she launched The Things We Love clothing shop in St George’s. When she opened her doors in September, first her husband James fell off a ladder and was in hospital for five days, then Hurricane Humberto hit. Now, eight months later she is dealing with a closure due to Covid-19. She is determined to go on. Last weekend she launched her first website detailing her stock, and she is now delivering to anyone with a fashion emergency. “I built the website myself in one week,” Ms Perry said. “I am really proud of myself. I have never ever done anything like that, but I figured it was time to do it.”She works full time in insurance, so she had to build the website during her free time, which meant she was often up until 2am. Ms Perry characterises her style as “boho chic”. She also sells jewellery, art and soap in her store and things like mobile phone cases and chargers.“It’s not the sort of place where you buy a pair of black work pants,” she said. “This is more weekend attire.”She was just transitioning to summer stock when the pandemic hit.Ms Perry first started dreaming of having her own shop back in 2000, but thought she would test out the idea by selling handmade soap and other items at Harbour Nights on Wednesdays in Hamilton. She developed a following, and after five years started seeing tourists who visited Bermuda year after year. “I don’t make my own jewellery, but I look for unique pieces,” she said. “I only ever bought one of anything. A lot of the pieces are quite funky and unique.”But after a while she started to get tired of Harbour Nights. The weather was too changeable, and she felt the fee for a spot at the event was high. “I wasn’t getting any younger and the elements were just killing me,” she said. Then 400 sq ft of space opened next to the Davidrose studio on Water Street in St George’s. She nabbed it, and opened her first shop there, Baubelle’s Boutique. “It was a little bit out of the way in terms of foot traffic,” she said. “And people heard about it by word of mouth.”Still, she was popular with locals, who would pop by every six weeks or so to see what she had in stock.“I only open on Saturday and Sunday, because I have a full time job,” she said. “And locals only tend to come to St George’s on the weekends anyway.” When a larger space opened up a short distance away, next to The Wharf restaurant on Water Street, she moved there, and changed the store name to The Things We Love. She thought the location would be easier to find, and the new name would be more memorable. “The name was a play on words,” she said. “People used to come in the store and say oh my God I love everything! I thought it seemed appropriate and I thought everyone would remember that.”Operating in St George’s for five years she has seen many other stores come and go.“I think the key is to walk before you run,” she said. “Of course, now we have started to jog, Covid-19 has hit. No one foresaw any of this happening. At least I have a job to fall back on.”Ms Perry said many people have suggested she move her store to Hamilton, but she prefers to remain in the old town.“We are all waiting for the hotel and new airport to open up,” she said. “I think the people who do come to St George’s for the day, they love it and they enjoy walking around. There are some unique stores. There are a lot of people who care about the community in St George’s. They want to give people a reason to come. We have lovely coffee shops and the new nail salon.”The average outfit in her store ranges from $75 to $100. “I do fuller figure as well,” she said. “I don’t buy anything that I don’t really like myself. I am kind of fuller figure myself so I understand the challenges. Women who are fuller figured want to find something nice, but it is difficult to find.”Delivery is $5. For more information go to thethingswelovebda.myshopify.com or call 533-2359.