Floral business has 19 vendors offering variety of goods

As flower orders moved more to call-ins and Internet, owner found way to use all her space.

Boutique owner Pam Bowshier tips her hat as she stands inside her new shop, Girl With Far Away Eyes, located inside Absolute Floral in Urbana. Bowshier's boutique is one of 19 housed inside the space at 112 N. Main St., which is also still home to a full-service floral shop. The boutiques offer clothing, jewelry, accessories, home goods and furniture, much of which is repurposed or resale. Staff photo by Marshall Gorby

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By Elaine Morris Roberts, Contributing Writer 10:05 PM Saturday, June 18, 2011

URBANA — One business owner’s desire to better use her space after a shift in her customers’ habits has sparked a retail trend here.

Absolute Floral, 112 N. Main St., was a thriving full-service floral shop with plenty of foot traffic, but as technology changed the way customers sought their services, the more than 3,000-square-foot space was no longer practical, said Brittany Todd, manager and daughter of owner Cyndi Carpenter.

“Our business shifted to call-ins and Internet orders, and our walk-in business decreased,” Todd said.

Carpenter came up with the idea to open up the majority of the building to local vendors. She also decided to provide a one-stop shopping experience for all of the vendors’ customers and offered to handle all sales and sales tax requirements.

The word started to spread about the low overhead and ease of operation, Todd said. The building now houses 19 vendors who sell “anything and everything – you never know what you’re going to find,” she added.

No vendor’s license is required and leases are month-to-month; Absolute Floral requires no sales commission from vendors.

Carpenter and her daughter still operate a full-service floral business, offering wedding planning and tuxedo rental, Todd said.

What Carpenter didn’t know would happen was the creation of a new micro-community within the larger community outside Absolute Floral’s doors.

Sue Marsalis Stewart was the first vendor to set up shop; she started it all back in November when she opened Sue’s Nitch. Stewart had spent time in retail at Sweet Annie gift shop just across the town’s main square, has designed her own clothes with a local seamstress and loves the idea of helping people pull their own personal style together.

“I always wanted to have my own place where I could focus on design and color, so when the space became available, I jumped on it,” she said.

Valerie Wheeler opened Finders Keepers with her mother, Debbie Hudgins. Finders Keepers sells designer resale and vintage clothing along with original jewelry, furniture and art.

Wheeler, who now lives in Centerville, grew up in Urbana and grew up with retail, spending time with her mother, who also worked at Sweet Annie. Wheeler studied entrepreneurship and small business in college and would ultimately like to own her own store.

“This is right for right now and we’re having such a great time – it’s the perfect stepping stone. It gives us the opportunity to provide style and fun, but at an affordable price,” Wheeler said.

As the spaces filled, a local entrepreneur who got her start baking bread decided to rekindle her relationship with clothing retail. Pam Bowshier, who also runs Cosmic Charlie Baking and Bread, opened Girl With Far Away Eyes, a small clothing and accessories shop situated in between Stewart and Wheeler, where she’s glad to have landed.

“Most of the boutiques in Absolute are fairly new, but Sue’s Nitch is what started it all, and she is the anchor vendor, in my opinion. She had a solid following from her years at Sweet Annie’s, so when she branched out, people knew it,” Bowshier said.

Bowshier stocks an inventory that she describes as “downtown boho chic.” Her merchandise, all resale, comes from a variety of sources. “I scour little, out-of-the-way places. It’s nice to be able to offer things that are unique and special. This is not mass-market,” she said.

She keeps her prices reasonable – most dresses are under $10 – because style on a budget is an important aspect of her retail philosophy.

“I’d rather have a customer come in and buy three or four dresses and leave happy. You shouldn’t have to break the bank to look good,” she said.

While Bowshier has a clear idea of her own style and how that is reflected in her shop, Stewart is less willing to give her style a tag. Bowshier calls it “uptown country club chic.” Sue’s Nitch is filled with classically styled skirts and dresses, unusual home furnishings and an original line of baby clothes made from vintage fabrics, including pillow cases and tablecloths. The embroidery and cut-work found on the vintage fabric items, Stewart said, is perfectly suited to become the focal point of a little girl’s dress.

Stewart also designs all the windows for the boutiques, incorporating her store’s items and goods from her fellow boutique owners’ shops.

The retail spaces are not distinctly divided, which creates an open shopping atmosphere.

“We all help each other and are very supportive of the others’ businesses,” Bowshier said.

The three boutique owners work together and have the same goal of helping a woman find her signature style.

“You may have one and not even know it,” Bowshier said, “and we have so much fun bringing that out.”

Shop owners also buy from each other and sometimes barter, she added.

“There is such a community attitude here. Everyone wants the others to win,” Bowshier said.

Absolute Floral retailers have also turned to social media to get the word out. Facebook has become an important tool for communicating with established customers and widening their reach. Bowshier thought her business would start slowly, but her Facebook fan page has garnered a following in just a few months.

Her following has grown to include friends of friends and those who find her through searches. “One of my best customers is from Cincinnati – she buys clothing and bread,” she said.

Wheeler’s Facebook page offers style tips and the occasional promotion or discount.

Bowshier, whose two businesses reach much of Champaign County through joint ventures with the Farmers’ Market and The Depot coffee shop, sees boutique shopping at Absolute Floral as part of a movement of new businesses spurring economic growth.

“With the recent shopping and restaurant options and the explosion of new business, new artisans and new ventures, downtown Urbana is really coming together nicely at this point,” she said.

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