08/19/2026
The Bloom Box has spent 9 incredible years along side Nathalie and the staff at Absolute Serendipity. It is a heart breaking end.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared that the future of Absolute Serendipity was uncertain. With our lease coming to an end and the cost of rent increasing significantly if we renewed, I was faced with a decision about what came next. After carefully considering every realistic option, I've now made the incredibly difficult decision to permanently close the store.
Our final day will be Saturday, August 22.
This decision was not made quickly or easily.
I've spent the past few weeks looking seriously at our options, including relocating and rebuilding somewhere else. Ultimately, when I weighed the financial realities of starting over yet again, against the continued toll this business has taken on my health, I knew it was time to make the decision I had been trying so hard not to make.
In nine years, we have built, renovated and rebuilt this store six times. We've moved, expanded, rebuilt after disasters and adapted over and over again. I'm incredibly proud of what we've created and everything we've managed to overcome, but doing it all again would come at a cost I can no longer justify, financially, physically or emotionally.
Sometimes making the right decision means recognizing when you've already given something everything you reasonably can.
And I know that we have.
So, this really is the end of the road for Absolute Serendipity.
We will be here through Saturday, August 22, supplies permitting, and I expect these last five days may get a little crazy. I know many of you will want to pick up last-minute paint, get the information from your paint files, stock up on favourite products or simply come by one last time.
We want to help as many of you as we possibly can, but I'm asking for a little patience and kindness while we do it.
Our staff are losing their jobs.
Every one of them could have decided to leave early and move on to whatever comes next. Instead, because they care about this store, each other and our customers, they've chosen to stay and see this through with me until the end. They're facing the loss of their livelihoods and all of the uncertainty that comes with it, and I couldn't be more grateful for the way they've continued to show up through all of this.
So if the phone is ringing off the hook, there's a lineup at the counter, your paint takes a little longer than usual, or we're simply trying to keep up, please give them some grace. They're doing their very best during a difficult final week.
One thing that is important to me personally is that Fort McMurray isn't left without access to Benjamin Moore. We already have a couple of interested prospects, but if you or someone you know owns a local business and might be interested in adding Benjamin Moore, or has considered starting something new, please feel free to contact me.
If a new local Benjamin Moore retailer is established, I'm also open to working with them to transfer our customer paint files so that our customers don't lose years of colour and product history when we close.
We have just five days left, and I know they're going to go incredibly quickly.
Until we lock the doors for the last time, we're still here, we're still mixing paint, and we're going to do our very best to take care of as many of you as we can.
Our final day is Saturday, August 22.
Nathalie
