Eliesa Johnson
Stephanie's Shop
Photographs of Stephanie's Boutique for Mpls / St. Paul Magazine. All images by Eliesa Johnson.
It's hard to stomach what this pandemic is doing to our incredible community of locally-owned shops and brands. Over the last week, we've witnessed our retailers (especially those without online shopping capabilities) respond to this new landscape by quickly pivoting and coming up with creative ways to engage and serve their customers—from implementing virtual styling and shopping methods to curbside pick-up. And some are even joining forces.
To show support for other local businesses that had to close their doors during this unprecedented time, women's fashion boutique Stephanie's is lending a helping hand. Today, the shop launched a shop local market—a webpage dedicated to featuring and selling goods by brands that don't have an e-commerce platform of their own.
To test the new concept, Stephanie's has partnered with fellow St. Paul shop and lingerie boutique Flirt, who, like many other brick-and-mortar storefronts, abruptly closed last week for the safety of customers and staff.
"It's a crazy time to be running a small business," says Stephanie Morrissey, owner of Stephanie's, which opened in 2004. "But we've been doing everything we can to innovate and support our whole community."
According to Jessica Gerard, owner of Flirt Boutique, this partnership presents a huge opportunity for her shop, with limited outlets, to survive this crisis. Until now, she was leaning on phone sales and private appointments. "Every sale for small businesses is crucial at this time," she says. "We are so thankful for everyone's support."
Morrissey and Stephanie's manager Lora Horgen hope that this encourages other small businesses to support one another in this way. "We've always believed in collaboration over competition, so this unique time is truly allowing us to put that into action in a meaningful way," says Morrissey.
If the test run goes well, the Highland Park shop hopes to expand its shop local market to other retailers who are without an e-commerce site during this time. "It's the ultimate local small business partnership and we are so excited to support Flirt during this difficult time," says Morrissey.
Shop Flirt's assortment of lingerie and loungewear, as well as Stephanie's clothing, shoes and accessories at stephaniesshop.com and on Instagram.
