So I’m set to open my retail space at the beginning of next month, meaning right now is crunch time for buying supplies. I THINK I have everything I’m going to need, but it seems that you always realize things that are necessary after getting started.

Things I have so far:

Things I may still need:

One interesting thing I noticed is that buying in bulk and buying from traditional retail display shops doesn’t always save you money. I usually get things like Mannequinns from Acme Display or Joslin Display, but when I looked at things like hangers and fixtures they were actually cheaper at regular retail sites. For example, wooden hangers. For example, if you buy 100 wooden hangers from Joslin Display, they’ll run you about $1 each. However 50 from target is 85c each and 24 is about 75c each. Weird, isn’t it? Isn’t buying in bulk supposed to SAVE you money?

I also passed on buying packaging from Uline. They’ve got a broad product selection and good customer service but their prices are so much higher. But I’ll talk about my packaging later. I also got creative with these little plastic display thingies from office depot (I have no idea what they’re called or what they’re really for) to show my clutches and wallets. It’s always good to get creative!

Oh boy, It’s been FAR too long since I’ve blogged. Things have been going smoothly, and everything has been at a pretty normal pace so there hasn’t been a lot for me to discuss. The boutique passed it’s one year anniversary in May, and back when this started back in 2008 I didn’t expect to be opening a brick and mortar shop the following year.

Oops…did I just let that slip? looks like the cat is out of the bag! Sort of. I’m leasing space for Ooh La Luxe! within a local salon; the lease contract is in hand and should be signed within the next couple of days. And we WANT to get this open by November, so things are moving pretty quickly.

You know how they always say, in business, and the fashion business especially, that it’s all about networking and selling yourself? Very true. To be honest I’m not the best at doing that, partly because I’m in a very small town and it’s not easy to network with others. So, as usual in my life, I turned to the internet. I was hanging around craigslist looking for jobs listings and I clicked the salon/spa gigs categories, where all the salons list their booths for rent. I figured, there’s nothing to lose (completely ignoring the “do not solicit” warnings) and email all the recent listings telling them about myself, what I do and asking if they were interested in some type of boutique partnership. I didn’t expect to hear anything back but about 4 days later there was a message on my voicemail from a salon saying they were interested in meeting me. And the rest (will hopefully be) was history.

The salon is VERY high end and full service, well decorated and the area has a bit of money. They even have six tanning rooms I can use as dressing rooms, with full length mirrors and hooks and everything. It seems pretty perfect.

So, needless to say, I’m quite exciting. Right now I’m sourcing supplies like bags and tissue paper and trying to get samples from different companies, getting price checks on hangers in bulk, and looking ahead to the spring, since the spring market will be here in just a couple of weeks. It’s very exciting because this opens up the possibility for me to carry SO many different types of merchandise like denim, swimsuits, flip flops, lingerie, more jewelry and some lesser known brands.

Can’t wait and I hope everything works out.

Announcement coming soon.