Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 5609 |
| Work Detail | With the holidays approaching, shoppers now have new places to find presents for mothers, sisters and spouses. Three local stores catering to women’s clothing, home décor, accessories and other gift items recently have opened or expanded, bringing new merchandise to Lynchburg. The Conscious Mercantile, a spin-off business of the women’s clothing store Live Trendy or Die on Church Street, opened Aug. 19. Shay’s Boots, Bling & Everything, from the owner of Shay’s Unique Gifts, opened downtown in June. Gladiola Girls has been in Lynchburg since 2012 but recently moved to a new expanded location in the Boonsboro Shopping Center. The Conscious Mercantile The Conscious Mercantile, at 1024 Main Street, carries only American-made clothing, gifts, crafts and jewelry. It specializes in items made by small businesses often run by individuals, whom owner Stephanie Atkinson calls “makers.” “We’ll have something in the store where the maker may be located in Pennsylvania or somewhere else around the country,” Atkinson said. “I have about 10 small makers from around Lynchburg in here. I wanted to be the anti-Bed Bath & Beyond.” The Conscious Mercantile carries jewelry in a variety of styles, beauty products, notebooks and vintage print dresses. Every month the store gets new makers to provide different merchandise to shoppers. “On the 7th of September I have a card line and a T-shirt line coming in,” she said. “With every month we will have new vendors coming in from across the country. Some will stay, and others will be seasonal.” Atkinson was intrigued by the idea of a general store, and wanted to create one in Lynchburg. “It’s a trend right now to have a mercantile that sells a little bit of everything that specializes in American-made textiles and nobody was doing that here,” she said. “I thought that was a really cool concept.” With The Conscious Mercantile’s focus on makers who create unique gift items, Atkinson wanted to help create a space for people to support people who create products. “Because we live in such a consumerist society, people will pay for a brand but not for someone’s time,” she said. “I wanted to do something different than that.” Shay’s Boots, Bling & Everything Shay’s Boots, Bling & Everything at 1300 Commerce Street has women’s clothing, a selection of patterned and traditional cowboy boots, accessories, custom-painted wine glasses and Christmas ornaments. First opened in a single room two blocks from the current location, the previous store mostly carried products owner Shay Borel made herself. “I painted and distressed old furniture, made jewelry and painted custom wine glasses,” she said. “I used to just do shows, but then I’d come home with all of the inventory so I just decided to open a store.” The newly expanded space is larger and is full of Bohemian-style women’s clothing in bright colors, blinged-out belts, home décor and boots. “Now it’s expanded to more of an everything store,” Borel said. “I wanted to reach people who were visiting downtown and bring them unique gifts.” Borel stocks her store with items she finds at gift-buying markets in Atlanta and Texas, alongside the same items she still makes. In the back corner, stacked shelving displays glassware and platters decorated with designs from at least a dozen different colleges. “I try to specialize in items for schools that people can’t easily go out and pick up items from, like Hampton-Sydney,” she said. “Moms at the tailgate like to have products like big theme platters that nobody else has.” Another display is piled high with intricately decorated boots, which the shop imports from Turkey and Mexico. Traditional styles are mixed in with floral printed knee-high boots. “I like to have things that no one else in town has,” Borel said. “If all of the stores have the same thing, then neither one of us is going to do well. I don’t want what they have.” Gladiola Girls While Gladiola Girls’ original location mostly catered to women’s clothing, the new store in the Boonsboro Shopping Center also has home goods. “I felt like with this space I could expand and create more of a lifestyle boutique,” said owner Renee Wood. “It’s beyond what a woman wears, it’s what she has in her home and gifts that she gives. We’re trying to meet more needs of the everyday woman.” Gladiola Girls still stocks organic and fair-trade clothing items but has added a baby section and more home-décor items. Jewelry, handmade greeting cards and trendy throw pillows are spread throughout the sunlit store, decorated with local art that changes every month. “What we’re trying to do is create a thoughtful representation of things either produced through fair trade, organic items, and things that are worth investing in and that are different than a big box would provide.” The store stocks jewelry made by women from Ethiopia who were widowed from ongoing conflict, and a special section of jeans called a “denim bar.” “With the denim bar we help women find jeans that they like and that fit well,” Wood said. “Part of what makes us successful is the atmosphere we create. We’re very oriented towards a woman feeling very comfortable to come in and shop but to make no purchase.It’s about the long-term relationship.” Gladiola Girls also has a location in Lexington and still maintains a presence downtown. Located at 1210 Main Street, the boutique shares that space with The Patriotic Peacock, which holds painting classes. Wood said she enjoys helping people find special items for themselves or to give as gifts. “Previously I worked as a gift buyer for 12 years,” she said. “Gift-buying is something I enjoy doing. You’re here to find something that’s a little unique.” |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Consumer Products |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.newsadvance.com/work_it_lynchburg/news/a-look-at-three-lynchburg-boutique-stores-recently-opened-or/article_02a91291-892e-5236-8b7b-aa9de0c37ea5.html |
