A combination of the French words atelier (boutique) and galerie (art gallery), Atelerie (pronounced uh-tell-er-ee) is defined by many locals as the place to find all things fashion-forward in Bermuda — if you’re willing to go off the beaten path.But soon, savvy shoppers won’t have wander off the path at all because this popular little place is moving to the heart of Hamilton’s shopping district.Celebrating its fourth year in business, the women’s clothing and accessories boutique is moving to 7 Reid Street in the Washington Mall — taking over the old Body Shoppe space between AS Cooper and Sail On in early July.Owner and buyer Heather Macdonald is the brains and the beauty behind this sleek boutique.“We’re waiting on fixtures and furniture to come in and we’re doing some renovations too in the old space to get it up-to-date, so things are coming along but I think it’ll be early July,” said Ms Macdonald.Long known as Bermuda’s best-kept secret for fashion and accessories, Atelerie is not-so-secret any more after winning a sizeable cult following and three “Best of Bermuda” awards for “overall excellence”, “jewellery and accessories” and “people’s choice for accessories”.“Two of our biggest sellers are jewellery — everything from low-end to high end to everything in between,” Ms Macdonald said. “Denim has been huge for us too — people come to us for that, so we try to have different fits and keep up with different trends. Right now it’s bright colours. I mean, everyone is wearing bright coloured pants — they’re everywhere.”Ms Macdonald says Atelerie has clients of all shapes and sizes with styles of all sorts.“We have a lot of people who have lived internationally and have been able to shop in New York and London and they’re familiar with the brands, but then we have a lot of younger Bermudians. I guess the internet makes everyone more familiar with what’s in style. And we have older clientele too. We have a huge age range — it’s really hard to put it into one category,” Ms Macdonald said.Ms Macdonald and her mother, Charlene, as a buying team, keep up with international fashion trends, importing international labels shoppers could find in major boutiques or department stores in major cities around the world - designers like Helmut Lang, Diane von Furstenberg, Rebecca Taylor, J Brand and Rag and Bone.“We realise people can shop online and they can shop abroad, but I’m a big fan of boutique shopping — it’s about the experience of going to a store and having someone look after you,” Ms Macdonald said. “Some people really don’t want help, they just want to try on and we respect that too. But no one works on commission. We just want it to be a calm, relaxing, fun, inspiring experience and for everyone to look their best.“We do our best to give locals a choice right here in Bermuda. At the end of the day, when you walk out the door with your purchase you know it fits you and you don’t have to pay duty and shipping and all the rest of it only to find out you’ve got a dress for an event and it doesn’t fit you. You have to pay to ship it back and then you don’t have a dress, what are you going to do then?”The pair go on buying trips to New York four to six times a year bringing back to Bermuda only a limited quantity of styles so that no two clients will ever look the same.“It’s small quantities because of Bermuda being Bermuda,” Mrs Macdonald said. “Because of clientele not wanting to look like the next person, so it’s a constant for us — to find things that appeal to people and that are new and different.”“That’s the hard part sometimes. You find something that’s amazing and a great find, but if you bring in 15 of them, 15 people will be wearing it and a lot of our clientele are friends, so we have to be really careful,” Ms Macdonald said.Atelerie’s local clientele has grown considerably over the last few years, prompting the boutique’s need for a slightly larger and decidedly local location.“Our biggest reason for moving is just to have a more central location because I think convenience is top priority for our clientele,” Ms Macdonald said. “I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like everyone is just so busy. It’s just a way of life right now. Time is of the essence and people want to get things done quickly.”An artist, photographer and oil painter by training, Heather Macdonald’s eye for detail is obvious in the way she carefully chooses the pieces of clothing and jewellery she decides to display. She plans to do the same with the renovations and decor of the new store.Outfitted with reclaimed, sustainable wood furniture and accents, Ms Macdonald says clients will feel like they’ve stepped into one of New York City’s Soho boutiques.Ms Macdonald and her mother have spent the last five months designing every last detail — from the fixtures to the furniture they sketched out themselves and had custom made in California. They say the place promises to be light and bright but still very cosy and private.With only 150 additional square feet in the new space, Ms Macdonald says the store will be beautiful, yet fully functional.“I think our store is inspired by Anthropologie — I love that store and the way they merchandise. I think when you see things merchandised properly it makes you want to try them on,” she said. “We spend so much time trying to make the store look beautiful. It’s a small space and we carry almost 60 plus designers — so we try to keep it neat and organised by colour so it flows well.”In honour of the big move, Atelerie is having a moving sale starting today until the new store opens.“We don’t want to have to move it!” Charlene Macdonald said.“We’d like a lighter load. And we always have a sale this time of year, so we thought it’d be fun for everybody. We’ll have $10, $15 and $25 baskets, so those are very deeply discounted items. And then there’s other spring inventory and jewellery that’s current that we’ll discount too. So there will be a lot of great things,” Ms Macdonald said.Ms Mcdonald says she’s so thankful to her loyal customers and hopes they’re as excited about the new location and she is.“Our customers are amazing, we’re so lucky,” she said. “I love the space that we’re in right now, it’s been like home. It runs smoothly and it’s been great for us but I think it’ll be great to be on Reid Street and be around more stores.”Atelerie’s moving sale starts today at their current location, 6 Dundonald Street, Hamilton. 296-0280.