PROVICI Cosmetics at the Magazine Fair!

Hey everybody! So this Thursday, April 1, 2010, is our Magazine Fair in the atrium of Red River College, Princess Street Campus. We worked until midnight every night before the due date, we are tired, spent, and ready for a bit of fun. Well, this is our chance.

My group's magazine is titled URGE: Urban Generation. It's a Winnipeg based, urban development magazine that showcases local businesses and culture. For my feature article in the magazine, I interviewed Anthony Polverosa, who is the guy behind PROVICI Cosmetics. He was absolutely fantastic. I left the interview wowed by him.

Well, I'm very excited to say that Anthony will be at my group's magazine booth this Thursday. So, below is my featured article with the fabulous makeup artist. Check it out, and be sure not to miss a free demo by PROVICI Cosmetics this Thursday.


One Face at a Time

The perception exists out there that Winnipeg’s Downtown is not the thriving city centre of Toronto or Vancouver, but rather a place void of shopping opportunities to stay away from. However, an oasis of creativity in the form of unique restaurants, beautiful architecture, a vibrant nightlife, and individual boutiques and shopping outlets lies within walking distance. The Exchange District attracts people like Anthony Polvorosa, an entrepreneur who created his business, PROVICI Cosmetics, which is now expanding.

PROVICI Cosmetics, located at 233 McDermot Avenue, opened in the Exchange District in April, 2006. Polvorosa has since opened two more locations. First, he opened a kiosk in Kildonan Place, and then the newest at 559 Academy in Advanced on Academy, which opened this past October.

Polvorosa got his inspiration and education from all over North America. “Being in other Downtowns like Vancouver and Toronto can inspire you. If you are entrepreneurial, you can take what they do there and be for-founding here,” he says.

Studying in Toronto at the International Academy of Design and Technology, Polvorosa earned his Degree in Clothing Design. The 34-year-old then came back to Winnipeg and worked as a makeup artist for M.A.C at The Bay Downtown, who sent him to Chicago to be schooled in makeup artistry. “I apply the same principles of clothing design to makeup,” he says, “I tell my story through makeup now.”

He went out on his own when customers and co-workers at M.A.C started to tell him he needed to do so. “I didn’t want to be another freelance makeup artist,” he says, “so here I am.”
At PROVICI Cosmetics, you can work with the makeup artist to custom blend your own foundation. Polvorosa also works with a chemist to create makeup to his own specifications. “We combine the highest grade mineral and synthetic materials with the latest break-through technology,” he says.

Jerrett Storey, Manager of Marketing and Communications for the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone (Biz), thinks this diverse community offers a great experience. “The Exchange is a place that pulls the creative type in,” says Storey, “I think it’s the rich culture, architecture, and heritage.”

The Exchange District Biz is dedicated to improving business conditions. With the use of marketing, cross promotion, and public relations, it brings the area together. “We support the businesses once they’re here. We offer them a sense of community,” says Storey.
Storey thinks the Exchange District has a bright future. He wants to keep bringing people down to the area. The goal right now is, “to keep drawing focus to this gem of the city. It really is our own little oasis,” he says.

Polvorosa sees the Exchange District growing more every year. “When we first came here, there was only two retail outlets, Cake Clothing and Candie & Dolls,” he says, “and now the Exchange is just booming.”

Alana Klein, a Senior Makeup Artist at PROVICI Cosmetics, came from working in a mall environment. She has worked for Polvorosa for two years now. The transition to working in the Exchange District has been a welcome one, “in the mall, you kinda did your own thing. Here we all know each other, and help each other out with events,” she says.

The clientele is also a new experience for Klein. “People come here to spend more money,” she says, “we get people from all over the city who come to actually shop.”

Polvorosa appreciates the feel of community here, a theme he maintains in the marketing and advertising of his company, which is done entirely in-house. “We only use models who are either inspiring or are making a difference in the community,” he says, “like Tara Birtwhistle, who’s a principal dancer for The Royal Winnipeg Ballet.”

“I could do it the easy way and get some big celebrity, but why not celebrate who we have here,” says Polvorosa. He feels that with his business being Winnipeg based, he wants to showcase the city.

PROVICI Cosmetics is making a name for itself outside of Winnipeg as well. It was recognized as one of Canada’s “Best Primping Hotspots” by FLARE magazine. When Polvorosa found out, he was a bit excited, “I was screaming for days,” he says, “I remember seeing the magazine, Fergie was featured on the cover.” At this point, his face lit up, as he showed me the framed cover he keeps on his makeup counter.

What is it that makes a business succeed or fail? Polvorosa doesn’t say he has all the answers, but he does know a few things that got him to where he is today. “Create a reason for your clients to come to you,” he says.

He also thinks you cannot be stuck in a particular mould. “You have to be open-minded,” he says, “always learn.”

The Exchange District is a great place to set up shop if you offer something unique. Many businesses that start here expand, like Cake Clothing, which has just opened its second location in St. Vital. But even though the goal, as in Polvorosa’s case, is to go global one day, he says, “I take it one location at a time. One face at a time.”

Olympic Spirit

So I didn't get to see the gold medal game on Sunday between the US and Canada, but thanks to Starbucks customers I didn't miss a beat.

First of all, I'd like to mention just how dead Starbucks was during the game. Three of us girls were working, and each of us would have rather been in front of a TV cheering on our athletes. But the very few customers who did come in for their coffee all knew exactly how the game was going.

It was amazing. Every single person who walked in the door knew the score. One lady in the cafe had her blackberry out and gave us updates as they came in. So my Sunday at work missing the game turned into an Olympic party.

We even knew the moment Canada won, and so did everyone in the vicinity when our link to the Olympics jumped out of her seat and yelled "Canada just won!"

So there we were, a cafe half full of strangers celebrating our hockey team's win together while earning a day's pay. (We really do live in a fantastic country)