For Nacogdoches moms Angie Hermenitt and Christine Steinhauser, a chance meeting at a pumpkin patch would set the stage for an enterprising friendship. Together the women are the forces behind Willow Lane Boutique, a business specializing in handmade children's boutique clothing and accessories.
Angie and Christine met nearly five years ago, during a Mothers of Preschoolers play date at a Lufkin pumpkin patch. With much in common — both were transplants to the area and had sons who were 14 months old at the time — the women became fast friends.
Contributed photo by Silver Lion Photography |
Friends Angie Hermenitt, left, and Christine Steinhauser joined forces to create Willow Lane Boutique, a home business specializing in children?s boutique clothing and accessories.
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Contributed photo |
Angie has sold several sister sets, like the one modeled by Barbara and Bethany Senff.
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At first Angie was the crafty one, having taught herself to sew so she could make outfits for her daughter Nicole, 8, who was a toddler at the time. However, Christine didn't start crafting until her daughter, Ellie, now 1, was born.
"Christine was always saying, 'I'm not crafty, but I love what you do,'" says Angie. "Then after she had her daughter, she realized the fun of crafting."
It was the constant hunt for the perfect accessories that inspired Christine to try her hand at making them herself. "I realized I was buying all these bows for my daughter, and I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, or the quality wasn't what I thought it would be," she says. "So I taught myself to make bows and it snowballed from there."
Originally, neither planned to sell what they made, instead making things for their own children and each other's. That all changed early this year as other people began to notice their designs, and ask where they could buy them.
"It was around January or February," recalls Christine. "Angie made a poncho for my daughter and I made a bow to match it. I would put her in that and people would stop and ask, 'Where did you get that?' I would tell them my best friend made it and I made the bow. They would ask, 'Do you make them? Do you have a card?' That's when we said, 'There's a need for this.' That's how it started."
The friends decided to call their business Willow Lane Boutique, taking the word, "willow" from the inspirational Willow Tree figurines they exchange with each other. With Angie doing the sewing and Christine making coordinating bows and flip flops, they've already begun to gather a following.
"At first we started doing custom orders," Angie says. "People told us what they wanted and we made it. Then I started out doing different things, baby bibs and burp cloths, but I think I could pretty much make anything I put my mind to."
They found they also enjoy making pre-made designs and selling them, which they did at this year's Texas Blueberry Festival.
With similar tastes and exacting standards, Angie and Christine say their work styles and expectations mesh so well, they haven't had any problems adding the business component to their friendship. "That's how we knew we could be in business together because we're so much alike in what we expect from ourselves and what we make," says Angie.
Working around their family schedules, and in Angie's case, a full-time job as well, the women make an effort to balance work with home life, agreeing that working on their designs is relaxing and therapeutic.
Describing their look as trendy and fun, with an emphasis on quality, they do most of their selling through online sites, such as Facebook, eBay and Etsy.But most of their business comes from word of mouth, as friends of friends see things they've made.
One of their most popular designs includes a dress Angie makes called a peekaboo dress. "I made one for Christine's daughter and she had a friend who saw it and said, 'I have to have one for my niece,' so I made it the same way, with her initials embroidered on it." The dress, which ties on the sides, is open so you can see the fabric underneath as well as on the outside. "It's kind of become a Willow Lane signature dress," Angie says.
The most requested bows and flip flops are those accented with bottle caps, which can be customized with initials, school colors and more. "I've done Girl Scout mom flip flops, baseball mom flip flops..." says Christine. "They've been really popular because people like to express themselves that way."
Clothing is available from infants to size 10; flip-flops are available in all children and adult sizes, and bows are one size fits all.
For now, the duo is letting their business lead them where it may. Calling it a labor of love, Angie says, "We're growing and evolving and seeing what it is we enjoy doing."
For more information, go to willowlaneboutique.com or search for willow lane on facebook.com/willowlaneboutique.
