Maureen Welton Shops Vancouver Like A Pro

18Karat’s Maureen Welton shares her favourite home products and great advice on how to shop like a pro.

Maureen Welton, the president and creative director of 18Karat, Vancouver’s most original home décor store, shops for a living, so in her down time the last thing she wants to do is shop more. In fact, she avoids personal shopping if at all possible, power shopping when she needs to, typically doing a six-month shop in a single day.

“Once I find a favourite thing or place to shop,” she says, “I become one of their best customers. I get to know the owner/manager/decision maker and let them know I love their stuff. It could be the freshest flowers, the sweetest raspberries, the newest most special books, etc.” She negotiates the best deal; you can always get some kind of deal with an independent business, but you have to offer them something more than one typical purchase, she advises. She’s a very loyal shopper and buys large quantities of her favourites. Since she doesn’t return things, she is conscious about making good decisions on the spot. Merchants get to know her, her likes and dislikes, and then recommend new things as they come in. They let her know about upcoming sales and usually honour their sale price in advance. That way she gets what she really wants at the best price.

Though most things that Maureen lives with are from 18Karat, these are her five favourite home products that she buys regularly. She prefers simple, functional but good-quality products, which she loyally buys in large quantities so she never runs out. When she finds something she really likes, she uses it for years.

Maureen Welton’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver

SLEEP in 100 percent cotton bedding from Bed. The unbleached cotton is my favourite. They don’t go limp after many washes and are naturally (and fashionably) wrinkled and casual. If you love colour, their range is beautiful. They’re simple, good value and from Vancouver.
Bed, 2151 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver, 604-736-3482, www.bed-online.com

WAKE UP with Lavazza coffee beans from Saeco in Burnaby. I buy them by the case—running out would be a disaster! While you’re there, you’ll be tempted by their amazing espresso machines.
Saeco West, 1743 Boundary Rd., Vancouver, 604-299-7555

SHOP for groceries at Meinhardt. I love good food, and Meinhardt is so convenient to my city apartment that I call it my pantry. For a $25 purchase, you can ask for their Friends + Family number and get 10 percent off every purchase for a full year. It’s one of the few numbers I have memorized.
Meinhardt, 3002 Granville St. and 3151 Arbutus St., Vancouver, 604-732-4405, www.meinhardt.com

STOCK IKEA’s nine-hour Glimma white tealights and Fantastisk plain white paper dinner napkins. I buy these by the buggy load. I was at one of the factories in China that manufactures IKEA tealights, and the capacity and machinery for producing their quantities is astounding. I couldn’t import them from the factory for what I can buy them for in an IKEA store. The paper napkins feel substantial and have no pattern—just the way I like my paper napkins when linen is not practical.
IKEA, 1000 Lougheed Hwy., Burnaby, and 3200 Sweden Way, Richmond,  www.ikea.ca

ENJOY the best 18Karat frugal item: Semplice candleholders—simple, classic glass candleholders (that fit IKEA nine-hour tealights). I use them generously to set a glowing evening mood. I also use them for serving dips, olives and crudités. New colours arrive at the end of September. On sale in November.
18Karat, 3039 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-742-1880, www.eighteenkarat.com

Photo: Philippe Martin-Morice