In May we had a chance to attend the grand opening of a woman-owned Helotes business, Lenette’s Shop & Sip Boutique. Enchanted by the darling shop in the old-fashioned, rugged building nestled among other Hill Country businesses, we invited Lenette Flores herself to tell us about her new endeavor—and the sense of community she’s helping to cultivate at The Shops at Old Town Helotes.
On why she began her boutique
“My favorite “me time” involves a glass of wine or a cup of coffee walking around in search of the perfect outfit for my weekend events. I realized that in the early morning or on a cool night I can grab a cup of joe but at the end of a long day when I want to ”wine” down I would have to resort to fake wedding dress shopping for the glass of champagne. My vision was to turn retail therapy into a reality. My shop is not only about the ‘sip,’ it’s also about a place you can come shop in a relaxed environment.”
On Helotes
“I grew up in Helotes and took for granted all that it had to offer. It wasn’t until I moved away and had a family that I missed the small town feel. I had a meeting early one morning with a former classmate and she suggested we meet in Old Town Helotes — our hometown. I quickly fell in love all over again. It became my go-to stop for my morning latte. I spent more and more time there. This is definitely one of those spots where you can really feel in the moment. It was everything I wanted for my store.”
On her store’s vibe—and giving back
“I wanted to create a fun and relaxing shopping environment. We have a few things to sip in the shop, but I wanted to create a sense of community with my neighbors, so I encourage my customers to walk in with your wine from Wine 101 or cup of coffee from The Cracked Mug Coffee House and receive 10% off your total purchase. We also have VIP Nights, which include two bottles of wine, one flatbread, private boutique access, and a style session. They’re totally free to book, but after the success of our grand opening I wanted to re-create that red carpet feel every single month. So I got together with my [Helotes] boutique BFF Sandy from Urban Provisions and we came up with VIP Nights.
We had fashion show last week benefiting The Battered Women’s and Children’s Shelter, and it was a great success. We hosted it on Ladies Night Out, which is scheduled every second Wednesday of the month. We wanted to have a night of women empowerment, our models were women who are doing some amazing things from raising children to running companies. We wanted to highlight and showcase their minds not their bodies. But it was also our chance to showcase powerful women in different shapes and sizes.”
On her original fashion line
“When I was pregnant with my first daughter 14 years ago I became aware of all the chemicals we consume. Since then I’ve tried to live a clean organic well balanced life. As I began planning for my first brick-and-mortar shop, I found what I thought would be a perfect supplier for my store. Their clothes was everything I had visioned. I quickly started researching them—as I do all businesses I’m going to start working with—and found that their clothes had so many harmful chemicals that one store had to burn their whole inventory. The next week, I read an article about employees from an airline breaking out in rashes due to the amount of toxins in their new uniforms. This really got me thinking how I cared so much about what I put inside my body but never thought about what I put on the outside. I wanted to give people options. This is how The Lenette Collection was born.”
On her mama’s influence—and making everyone feel welcome
“My mother, Irene Aceves, definitely inspires me in so many ways. Mainly, she taught me that anything is possible. I want so many things for my shop but the one thing I don’t want is someone to feel that they don’t belong. Age or size my goal is to have something for everyone. I never want someone to walk in my shop and say they can’t shop here. My favorite part of owning this shop is watching women emerge from their comfort zones. You wouldn’t believe how many reservations and doubts have been left on the floor of that dressing room. There’s something magic that happens in there when you get a bunch of supportive women together. They walk in thinking they might not find anything that’s their style, but they walk out with a whole new definition of what looks good on them. It gives me goosebumps.”
Look for Lenette at Lenette’s Shop & Sip Boutique as well as on Instagram and Facebook.
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