BOUTIQUE2022PROFILES SPECIAL FEATURE PRESENTED BY WORDS Dwain Hebda and Catherine Frederick some interviews have been edited for length and clarity Do South® Magazine is proud to recognize the expertise and contributions of select boutique and shop owners in our community. They set the bar for excellence and are committed to providing their clientele the very best in home décor, apparel and unique gift items. Join us as we salute the passion they share for their profession!
BOUTIQUE2022PROFILES SPECIAL FEATURE PRESENTED BY WORDS Dwain Hebda and Catherine Frederick some interviews have been edited for length and clarity Do South® Magazine is proud to recognize the expertise and contributions of select boutique and shop owners in our community. They set the bar for excellence and are committed to providing their clientele the very best in home décor, apparel and unique gift items. Join us as we salute the passion they share for their profession!
“We love working at Hummingbird and love our customers,” Michelle says. “Our customers are amazing. I think many come here because they like the positive and peaceful environment. In fact, we believe most customers that come here do so intentionally because they appreciate how we listen to them, what they want, and they know that we will do our best to take care of them."
“There is also some significance to the name in that science has never been able to explain the hummingbird and it has been described as God's tiny miracle. Who doesn't smile when one of these beautiful birds zooms by them? Being a faith-based business, we thought the name just fit."
Another element on ready display is the owners’ faith, reflected in their inventory, how the owners relate to and respect their clientele and even in the name of the store itself. “We love hummingbirds; we have hummingbird feeders all around our home,” Michelle says. “When we were coming up with a name, we wanted a simple, one-word name. We were all sitting around the kitchen table watching the hummingbirds and my husband said, ‘Why not Hummingbird?’ and we thought it was perfect.
Making customers feel like family is second nature to Michelle and Hailey Hadley, the mother-daughter tandem behind Hummingbird Boutique. It’s a unique brand of customer service that’s helped the store build a loyal, repeat clientele.
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Hummingbird Boutique carries an eclectic mix of home décor, jewelry, gifts, candles, faith items, and women’s fashions. Merchandise changes regularly, so there’s always something new to discover in the bright, cheery retail store. “We are always adding new items,” Michelle says. “In the last few months, we’ve added a more upscale clothing line for the more ‘mature’ lady, called Sympli. It’s always flawless, very high quality, and doesn’t wear out. It’s something we're known for now; we’ve even had ladies from Northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma find us because we’re the only ones in the region that carries it.”
“It’s definitely a team effort,” Josh says. “When we go to market together, we walk around and sometimes I like something more than Carey and vice versa. But we trust each other's decisions and it’s worked out really well. We get a variety of merchandise that's a good blend of our personalities.”
When Josh Palmer’s friend suggested he buy his barn, he shook it off with a laugh. Little did Josh know the barn would soon become home to his and his partner Carey Thompson’s dream business. The couple always had a taste for good java, so the idea of a coffee roaster quickly sprang to life. The couple quickly added gift merchandise and Black Bison Coffee Company was born. “We laugh about it because when we first opened, everyone who walked through the door was a family member or a close personal friend,” Josh says. “When we started seeing people we didn’t know, we got excited.”
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Today, coffee (their signature Buffalo Blend comes highly recommended) resides next to a treasure trove of carefully curated gift items ranging from artisan jewelry, kitchen items, bath products and home décor to name just a few. It’s a labor of love and it shows in every detail.
Black Bison opened in 2019 and Carey admits the pandemic provided some faith-shaking moments. But thanks to the loyalty of their clientele, committed to supporting home-grown local companies, the company is thriving. “We opened in 2019 just for the holiday season and then we closed until March 1. Who knew?” she says with a chuckle. “We were both born and raised here, so we reached out to family, friends, companies and that is really what got us through the year.”
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CARD & CLOTH
“When a customer comes into our store, the staff remembers them, what they like, what their dog’s name is, what brands they bought last time,” Natalie says. “When something new comes in and they know a customer might like it, they’ll even text that customer about it. They’re really great that way, going above and beyond.”
It’s no accident that Kaci Collins and Natalie Hedrick, owners of Card & Cloth, have a well-honed grasp of what their clientele wants. Not only are they two longtime, savvy entrepreneurs (they joined their respective stores into Card & Cloth almost five years ago) but growing up locally has given them an understanding of customer tastes better than any big box store ever could. Add to that the personal service they and their friendly staff deliver with every interaction, and you’ve got an individualized shopping experience like no other.
A lifestyle boutique, Card & Cloth features fashionable women’s clothing in sizes from extra small to 3X, with styles that appeal to a wide range of ages and tastes. Also featured are a wide range of gifts and baby items up to twelve months. New merchandise arrives at the warehouse weekly, bound for the shelves of Card & Cloth’s two area locations.
“We also do a lot of customized gifts,” Kaci says. “We can personalize items right here in town so even at the last minute, customers can find that perfect gift item.
"Our customers are everybody from the thirteen-year-old who’s going into junior high up to plus-size ladies up to my eightyyear-old grandmother who shops here. We really do have something for everybody.”
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"The pandemic really changed a lot of things for me,” she says. “I’d finally got to the point that was like, ‘What am I waiting on? Just do this!’ So, I took a leap of faith and I’m so glad that I did, because I’m having so much fun.
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GRUNGE HOUSE
Grunge House has been around in one form or another since 2017 when Jami started selling her wares on Instagram. The following year she rented a booth in another boutique as a side hustle. Even with half of her attention the business did so well, it steadily moved her toward her own standalone retail store.
“I was born in the 1980s and I’m very much a product of the 1990s. There’s so much fashion that came out of that era and grunge music was a huge influence on my life as well. So, the name felt really authentic.”
“It’s just so cool when people come to my store and find that one piece that they really love and is really unique. Everybody wants that opportunity to stand out, and what better way to do it than with your clothes?”
“I was looking for a unique name, something that would make me stand out,” said Jami Davis, owner. “When Grunge House came to me, I thought, there’s not really anybody else that has a name like that.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think Grunge House was a new alternative band or a gritty music venue, not a bright, stylish retail space. But that’s exactly what you find in the Fort Smith clothing store, which opened this summer carrying authentic vintage clothing that’s long on cool and short on cost.
“One of the things I’ve evolved into is vintage t-shirts. Everybody loves the vintage t-shirt, the feel of it, the softness, what’s printed on it. If you have a vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt, that’s the epitome, you know?”
Authenticity is a big deal for Jami, and it shows in her merchandise. You won’t find any faux retro stuff in her store; she scours garage sales, thrift stores and other sources to find the unique, funky and one-of-a-kind for her customers.
“When it comes to blouses and dresses and things of that nature, I really look for patterns that are eye-catching,” she says. “A lot of stuff from the 1990s and 2000s is a really big influence on today’s fashion trends and that’s something that I look for as well.
SHOP PERSNICKETY
“I think it’s important that we target a number of age groups and not just one,” she said. “We carry items that appeal to the working woman as well as teenagers, in styles that can be worn to the office as well as to school or on days off.”
For everything her first year of business taught her, when it comes to customer service, Samantha has always known how to provide a fun and relaxed shopping experience offering the utmost in personal attention. She said getting to know her clients, their likes and preferences, is one big thing that sets Shop Persnickety apart.
Samantha draws from her in-house panel of experts – her mom and sisters – to keep clothing styles on point. She then handselects every item in the fashionable boutique, including jewelry and handbags, ensuring the highest quality and latest styles for teens through mature adults. Her game day line and printed tees are particularly strong sellers, she said.
"People are loving our graphic tees; those are very tough to keep in stock right now,” she says. “People are leaning toward clothes you can dress up or down.”
With a year under her belt as owner of Shop Persnickety, Samantha Mathews has learned a lot about her target clientele and what they’re looking for as they build their wardrobe for work or leisure time. She’s put this knowledge to work in Shop Persnickety’s inventory, stocking items that work as well in the office as they do on the weekend.
“My goal the first year was to grow the clientele and we have done that,” she says. “We really try to create a place that any woman could come in and feel comfortable picking out something for their wardrobe. We have a lot of customers tell us how much they enjoy their shopping experience and that’s what we strive for.”
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