The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce spotlight for January is More Than Boutique, located in downtown Antwerp, Ohio.
The owners of this quaint little boutique that resides just across from the H2O Water Store is Summer Allen and Dana Garmater. These two have been lifelong friends and they share a love of fashion. Starting a boutique has been a dream of both of them for years and last year they were able to start their business in the Antwerp community.
They love the community and wanted a place where women, friends, mothers and daughters would be able to come and feel accepted. The boutique represents a place where women can share moments together. Regardless of your past, size, title or choices you have made, More Than Boutique is a place that will remind you that you are more than your situation or the time that you are in right now.
Clothing boutiques have been around for a long time. More and more boutiques are opening up in small towns and providing a more local feel than the big box stores and they also have the opportunity to foster an environment of closeness. The boutique offers clothing, accessories, home décor and small gifts. The staff loves to support other small businesses and they have several local vendors featured in their shop.
Summer and Dana hope that their friendship and encouragement will be what most people will remember from visiting their boutique. They realize they cannot offer everything to everybody but they do want to offer as much style variety and sizes as possible. They offer a place where they too can shop with their daughters, who have all different styles and body sizes. Their focus is an atmosphere where everyone can feel confident and enjoy themselves.
The more the staff has gotten to know the women in the community, the more they find themselves getting glimpses into the lives of the ladies that come into the boutique. The connection when they see a familiar face, get to meet and hear about grandchildren, hear about newly engaged couples and hear about kids’ sporting events helps to build these connections. Occasionally a husband will stop in and ask for help to shop for his wife. These connections are extremely important and they love the relationships they are building.
What keeps customers coming back to the boutique? Well, they hope that you come back not only because you enjoy what product is offered in the store but also that you enjoyed the experience of having a place to shop with close friends. Maybe it was a quiet break for a young mom or even a place a grandma can bring their grandchildren to share a moment. While they enjoy serving the ladies in the community they also offer online shopping via Facebook and soon they will have that option on their website.
One funny anecdote about the businesses was when Dana realized that she was road tripping with a car full of undressed mannequins and imagining what that looked like rolling down the highway. Dana is most proud of the compromising relationship that she and Summer have, learning to build on both of their strengths and also being able to teach her girls about hard work and commitment and what it takes to make a dream come true. Summer is most proud of how she and Dana have grown as friends over this adventure. They are really able to succeed and grow in strength and confidence from learning from each other. There have also seen so many times women will just stop in to chat with a friends and that is what makes them smile, knowing they are offering them this moment.
When a customer walks into the boutique they can expect to feel welcomed and valued and to leave encouraged. They also want you to know that they are truly thankful for your presence in their store. What makes the business unique is that Dana and Summer run the business along with their teenage daughters and love that they are able to teach them through this experience. “We are who we are. You get the real us when you come in.” states Summer. “All of the different personalities make the boutique unique. They do not put on a front, you get our true selves”. Dana adds, “We want to be real! This is who we are, no filters, you get mistakes and all. We hope to inspire others to be real too!”
Passion for the business is evident when you walk in the boutique. Dana is most passionate about adding wholesale clothing to her “cart” and then spending way too much time narrowing it down when it is time to actually put in an order. Summer pretty much loves all fashion things. She is passionate about this entire adventure. One little known secret about the business is that dressing and undressing the mannequins is not an easy job and it probably looks as awkward as it feels.
A few tips to help improve your experience include taking a break for yourself, come in and just browse. If you need some girl time, reach out to a friend and spend some quality time together at the boutique. Also, don’t be afraid to ask them for help or for their opinion. They want you to feel confident in the outfit that you chose and want you to feel recharged as you leave the boutique.
Summer and Dana would also like to thank the two amazing men in their lives that have supported them along the way. They are often the safety bar to this roller coaster of a ride.
The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce is excited to partner with More Than Boutique in the growth of Antwerp and the surrounding community.