The dark clouds of Hurricane Leslie may be fast approaching, but tonight it’s something else that will be taking Hamilton by storm: the grand opening of Atelerie’s new Reid Street store.The boutique, which opened quietly on Tuesday, is having its official ribbon cutting and celebration tonight from 5-7pm at 7 Reid Street — at the entrance to the Washington Mall.The grand opening, timed to coincide with Fashion’s Night Out in New York and London, will feature the latest from the boutique’s clothing and accessories lines as well as a white wine tasting from New World Wines, and light house music from DJ PM.Launched in 2009, Fashion’s Night Out was created by Vogue’s Anna Wintour. The after-hours shopping extravaganza was created to give the 2009 recession in the US a kick — promising to deliver an evening of fashion, fun and free cocktails.Atelerie’s owner, principal buyer and designer of the new store originally hoped to be open in early July, but delays in the renovation of the space stalled those plans. She says it was a happy coincidence that the opening of the new store comes on one of the fashion world’s most anticipated dates.“We decided we’d like to do something on the same night to give locals something to do,” Heather Macdonald said. “It [Fashion’s Night Out] just happened to correspond with our timeline for opening, which I never expected, but it’s kind of funny — so Thursday it is.”The new space is only slightly larger than the store’s former Dundonald Street location and while it may be on one of the busiest streets in Hamilton, you wouldn’t know it from the inside. While the boutique’s window display blocks out much of the hectic-ness of Reid Street, it’s still light and bright.Ms Macdonald said she designed the space to create a private, intimate setting for her customers.“I wanted to keep a calm feeling in the store, but also wanted it to be convenient and accessible,” Ms Macdonald said. “We tried to design it so it’s not cluttered. It just functions better and there’s more rack space. We can stock more and visually, you can just see everything better.”Ms Macdonald says that while she and her mother designed the store, the renovations and move would not have happened were it not for the efforts of several different companies on the Island.“ESC — they’ve been amazing. They put in all LED lighting, which cuts down on electricity and heat as well, so it cuts our cooling costs. We’ve tried to be as environmentally friendly as possible with that and using reclaimed and recycled wood furniture. Woolfworks helped us refinish some of that furniture — they do some of the most beautiful finishes — they’re just amazing at what they do. Better Home Carpentry did all the wood panelling and carpentry. And Shaw Trucking — we moved a lot of furniture and those guys were amazing. I have to say it’s been really great working with all these local businesses who have made this happen.”Ms Macdonald says that while she’s only now announcing that Atelerie is officially open for business, she’s already seeing a steady stream of customers coming in and the feedback on the new space has been positive.“I was nervous Tuesday because I just didn’t know how it would all go, but it’s gone really well and I feel like we were received really well,” she said. “Overall, very positive feedback.”The boutique, which carries a range of women’s clothing lines like Rag and Bone, Splendid, J Brand, Diane von Furstenberg and Helmut Lang has expanded its extensive line of accessories to include more fine jewellery. Shoppers will find necklaces and earrings from a variety of artists neatly displayed in a new, brightly lit display case as well as other costume jewellery items and other accessories placed cleverly throughout the store.Everything in the store is neatly organised and in its own place. From the wall of perfectly folded jeans to a rainbow of colourful scarves hung on hooks that spell out Atelerie in the window’s front door. The thoughtful merchandising makes the most of the limited space.The store also features a wall of framed black and white photographs by Bermudian photographer Talley Smith who is living and working as a ranger on a game reserve in South Africa. Ms Macdonald hopes to feature new works from a variety of local artists every six weeks.Along with the new space come new longer hours. The store will be open from 10am to 6pm Monday through Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturdays. The store will be closed on Sundays for now, but Ms Macdonald says not for long.“From working in this space every Sunday for the last two months, I’ve seen just how much foot traffic on there is on Reid Street, so we’re hiring right now,” she said. “If we can make it work and find someone who’s willing to take on Sunday shifts, I’m open to being open on Sundays.“Hamilton wants everything to be open on Sundays and I think the Chamber of Commerce is really pushing for it. People are trying to make us more like the rest of the world. It’s really awful — when you walk around Hamilton on a Sunday, there are so many tourists who are like, ‘Where can we eat? What’s there to do?’ and it’s so true. There are a few things open, but it’s sort of a ghost town, but Reid Street’s pretty busy. Part of our move it to create convenience for people. Everyone’s so busy nowadays so longer hours and being open on weekends is part of that.”Every person who has made a purchase in the new store from Tuesday until the end of today will have his or her name put in for a drawing to win $500 gift voucher to the store. The winner’s name will be drawn at tonight’s grand opening celebration.And tonight’s celebration isn’t just about fashion and fun, it’s also about fundraising. Ms Macdonald has created 100 Atelerie T-shirt that they will be selling for a minimum of a $25 donation and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Coalition for the Protection of Children — a local organisation she says is near and dear to her heart.“I used to volunteer a lot for the Coalition — for their breakfast programme,” she said. “You’d be shocked at how much poverty there is in Bermuda. It’s pretty frightening how many children rely on this one meal — a lot of them come to school hungry and it’s heartbreaking. So this programme provides them with breakfast — cereal, orange juice, and yoghurts they can take on the go.“I don’t have much time to volunteer anymore, but I saw how helpful it was for these children — it’s such an amazing thing to do and I just really believe in the programme, so I contacted the Coalition and said look, I have 100 T-shirts and I’d like to sell them for a minimum $25 donation 100 percent of the proceeds will go to buying food for this programme.“Their website says that $50 will supply a child with breakfasts for a month. So I’m really hoping people will say ‘Hey, I want this T-shirt, I’ll spend even more than $25 on it and it goes to a great cause’. I really wanted to do something for the community to give back.”