Written by Aaron-Michael Fox.
“Boutiques on the Avenues,” the unofficial name for a group of female-owned local businesses, has decided to get together to promote downtown Huntington’s feminine side.
The idea for the promotion came about during a meeting of downtown business owners. Sara Deel and Sara Sturgen, owners of Old Main Emporium on Fourth Avenue, noticed how many of those present were females. They calculated that more than 20 downtown businesses are at least partly owned by women.
From that initial spark, the owners of the Village Collection, Bow Love, and Kenzington Alley (all located in the heart of Huntington’s historic downtown commercial district) soon joined Deel and Sturgen in their vision.
While the idea has now grown into a full-fledged event, initially it started more as a clinical analysis of the business climate in Huntington.
“The group started out as a way to assess if our businesses were on the right track and as we met each other and got to know each other, we saw the value in our different experiences and in collaborating,” Sturgen said. “The ‘Boutiques on the Avenues’ aspect seemed like something unique about Huntington that no one really thought about, including all of us, until we started listing the number of women owned businesses in the downtown core.”
The public part of the campaign began with a video, produced by McComas Video Productions. Released earlier today, the video showcases the first four boutiques to join the group (video below).
Welcome to The Boutiques on the Avenues!It's time to introduce you to some of the brilliant bosses behind some of the most amazing #boutiques you will find anywhere!From fashion forward trends to the finest frippery, you need to know about these boutiques — and you need to be in Downtown #Huntington supporting these local business.Stay tuned to this page for amazing deals, giveaways, events and so much more on!Share this video so everyone can see how amazing our Downtown is!
Posted by The Boutiques on the Avenues on Thursday, April 5, 2018
Since creating the video, Runway Couture and The Bodega have decided to come onboard. The next promotion, a “Mother’s Day Escape” pop-up shop, will be on May 10. The shop is tentatively planned to be in the space formerly occupied by Mug & Pia at 939 Third Avenue and will feature an aesthetician, a masseuse, a dermatologist, and a hair stylist.
To stay up to date on what all the Boutiques on the Avenues have planned for the future, go to their website or follow them on Facebook.
