FEATURED STORY FROM THE Best of BG – 2018 ISSUE
Eden Fashion Boutique:
Makes Customers Feel Accepted Loved for Who They Are
“I was home, not necessarily planning to do anything else, but went shopping one day and came home and told my husband, ‘Why don’t we have more shops in town?’ I needed an outfit to go to a specific outing and thought, ‘I should just open my own store,’ ” she recalls of what started the whole process. What eventually became her own store is Eden Fashion Boutique.
“Obviously, as a mom with many kids (she and her husband Dave now have six with two foster children adoptees) you always want things that are functional and so I think we really serve that,” says the 2004 BGSU graduate. Her target market is women 28-45 although her clientele range from high school girls up to women in their 70s, she says. What she stocks are unique but very functional clothing. “You want to look nice and be on trend but also do life and all that entails the kids. So when we’re buying, that’s always our focus.”
“One of our goals is that we want every woman that comes in here to feel special, to feel valued, to feel perfect as they are, not that they have to strive to be anything other than who they are,” Thompson says. To help achieve that with their customers, they focus on getting to know each person and helping them find a look that is not only stylish, but comfortable.
“That’s one of our favorite things to do. We love being able to help our customers . . ., “ she says. “And we also want to be honest with our customers; our goal is not to push product. If someone tries something on and we don’t feel like it’s flattering, we’re going to be kind but be honest and we’re going to work to find
something that we feel makes them look great.” The store features more than 40 different brands as well as accessories and may patterns and prints. The store features a premium active wear line, three different jean lines, jewelry, shoes and gift items. A real niche market has developed around the jeans that is offered by Eden Fashion Boutique, says Thompson. “I think that one of the things that people love about Eden is our selection of jeans,” she says.