Brickwood Boutique delivers stylish trend to town at a reduced price level | Organization Spotlight

O wning a boutique was by no means on the radar for Christen Edmonds.

But as an MU college student, she started to market headbands to elevate dollars for a mission trip to Africa.

It begun as a pop-up retail store on campus selling the headbands her grandmother taught her to make, and she ended up offering to boutiques in a quantity of states.

That still left her wanting a storefront of her individual.

Brickwood Boutique begun in Cape Girardeau in 2016 right after a place opened downtown.

“I didn’t make a business strategy, but I did see an opportunity to be in a higher education city and have a clothing boutique simply because they actually didn’t have any areas to store,” Edmonds stated.

A few many years later, Edmonds opened the next spot at 913 E. Broadway in Columbia.

Brickwood Boutique is a “Bohemian” women’s apparel keep. The boutique provides outfits that targets school pupils as nicely as younger specialists. They offer “athleisure” apparel as perfectly.

Shoppers are quickly met with booming speakers taking part in pop audio after getting into the retail store where they will obtain an array of dresses, bottoms, tops, footwear and equipment.

Inspirational and self confidence-boosting phrases written in black paint punctuate the white walls. Paper chandeliers hanging from the ceiling increase a heat yellow hue.

The authentic boutique catered to the college students from Southeast Missouri Point out University. Considerably to Edmond’s shock, she identified herself needing to expand and moved upstairs to acquire additional sq. footage.

“I was form of one of the 1st to market in Cape as much as boutique-smart,” Edmonds claimed. “Cape does not have really substantially, so I believe that was seriously an option for me to grow there.”

She attempts to copy types from additional expensive makes at a decrease rate issue in her merchants.

By polling her viewers on Instagram and utilizing the insight of her workforce, she decides what designs are on craze and buys the corresponding outfits utilizing two units.

This includes purchasing on the net by means of unique brand wholesale internet sites and an mixture brand name website referred to as “Fashion Go,” as well, likely “to sector,” a 7 days-extended celebration she attends a couple periods a 12 months in Dallas and Atlanta.

Edmonds describes it as a learning encounter to look at the most recent trends that manufacturers are featuring.

“[The brands] go to market place and they set up booths and in essence acquire orders from boutiques all throughout America,” she claimed. “I go via the booth and area orders for the present time and future seasons during the calendar year.”

Taylor Miller, a junior in textile clothing management at MU, operates at Brickwood. She claimed she enjoys providing Edmonds her choose on what’s well-liked in the style sector.

“We’ll ship her points that we like and that we want in the keep,” Miller claimed. “I consider it is really good that we get to have our input in what’s in this article.”

Sydney Calhoun has been operating at the Columbia spot since July. A senior strategic communications big at MU, she runs the advertising and marketing for Brickwood’s Instagram web site.

“She has been super proactive about what we want to do,” Calhoun reported. “If we’re genuinely interested in something, she’s truly wonderful about being like ‘OK, here’s what you can do to boost your knowledge, support you in the prolonged run.’ ”

Working two enterprises in various places isn’t simple, so Edmonds gives staff a excellent offer of flexibility and accountability. The Columbia shop has 10 personnel and the Cape Girardeau has 6.

“Basically the keep is operate by all of us, so it’s seriously great that she can let us be so hands-on because it’s just a excellent experience for after faculty,” Calhoun claimed. “I’m pretty appreciative.”

Brickwood has also adopted ground breaking procedures to cater to its consumers. The retail store provides a membership software named Club Brickwood the place prospects get 25% off each and every product for $7.99 a month with the initially thirty day period totally free.

“I had study a reserve on subscriptions and how powerful they are, and if you can incorporate them in any way to your small business, to try to,” Edmonds claimed.

The Brickwood brand has received a regular pursuing both of those in particular person and on social media. To date, the Instagram site for the Columbia place has in excess of 1,400 followers and the Cape Girardeau location has 9,700.

Hayley Ockerhausen was enticed by the decor ample for her to want to shop there.

“I favored their window displays and believed that the dresses that they had looked cute and I believed that the identify sounded entertaining,” Ockerhausen mentioned. “It has a fantastic central site.”

Edmonds is now searching to opening a pop-up in St. Louis. As far more persons pick out to store local and aid small firms, she needs to continue escalating her on the web presence and bring designer dresses at decreased costs when prospect comes knocking.

“I do feel my brick and mortar will proceed to develop, but I also think on the internet is just going to get more substantial and more substantial,” she stated.