DECEMBER 4, 2008 Issue
Business Spotlight
Gladiola Girls—Urban Chicwear for Rural Residents
Story by Sam Calhoun
Camaraderie, friendship, unconditional support, a helping hand in times of trouble—that’s what friends are for.
Kristen Hall, owner of Gladiola Girls in downtown Boone, knows what it means to have true friends. While renovating a storefront on King Street for her new boutique in 2002, Hall had emergency surgery and was in the hospital for a month.
With Hall out of action, the fate of the new boutique seemed grim, her new business doomed from the start.
What happened next is fit for a movie—a feel-good flick complete with urban chicwear, if you will.
Understanding the dire straits Hall was facing, a group of Hall’s best friends banded together—headed up by Rene Johnson—went to Hall’s bedside and listened to her vision for the boutique. After grasping the vision, the friends went to work and finished the space just in time for Hall to be released from the hospital.
“The name Gladiola Girls celebrates the friendship of women; it’s a tribute to the gift of true friends everywhere,” said Hall.
Gladiola Girls is celebrating six years in business this year, and Hall’s vision is standing the test of time with a little help from her friends—the number grows daily.
Gladiola Girls is above all else a friendly place. Whether Kristen, Laura, Parisa, Merritt, Katie or Sam greets customers, the shopping experience is relaxed, positive and fashionable.
“Gladiola Girls is a friendly, downtown, neighborhood boutique,” explained Hall. “We offer a selection of wearable trends, both from well-known boutique lines and small up-and-coming designer labels. An important feature of the store is our Denim Bar, stacked with a handpicked selection of denim, with the attention towards fit and the important silhouettes of the season. We are also definitely sought out for our dresses as we always carry a selection from casual to dressy.”
Inside Gladiola Girls, customers will find designer clothing, one-of-a-kind underwear, gifts, scarves, handbags, shoes, candles and accessories galore.
Everything in the store is under $200—a rarity in the high-end boutique world, according to Hall.
“Gladiola Girls is more than great clothing; it’s also fresh accessories and gift items,” said Hall.
Hall makes it a point to stay current with her boutique’s offerings, adding new products weekly, including the latest trends from top labels such as Free People, Velvet, BCBG, Max and Cleo and Ella Moss. The boutique is also known for its on trend picks in jewelry and premium denim lines, including Citizens of Humanity, Paige Jeans and Joe’s Jeans.
“We create a fun and helpful environment for our customers—very fun, not pretentious at all. We have well-trained employees and we keep the atmosphere looking fresh,” said Hall. “Although we are a destination for college girls, we really do offer something for girls of all ages. We appeal to many women from their 20s to 50s who simply enjoy up-to-date pieces to add to their wardrobe. Some customers come in just for our great Tano handbags, which are Italian leather, and hobo wallets. Others come in for shoes or a piece of great jewelry or scarf.
Some just come in for fun stationary or candles, and other quirky gift items.”
Hall’s friendly and fashionable atmosphere at Gladiola Girls is the result of more than two decades of work in the fields of art, design and vogue.
Born into a military family, Hall moved all over the Southeast and Northeast in her childhood, finally ending up at Mercer University for college where she earned a degree in art education. Hall married and started checking out areas in western North Carolina to make a new home. After perusing Asheville and Black Mountain, Hall settled on the Boone area for her new life, lured by the region’s hillsides and natural beauty, she said.
“The people here were just so wonderful, and coupled with the natural beauty, we decided to stay,” added Hall.
In 1989, Hall opened an art gallery in the Appalachian Mini-Mall on King Street called Appalachian Images. After a few years of the gallery, Hall took a job at Bare Essentials, and then moved on to become the floor manager for the Southern Highlands Craft Guild at the Cone Manor. While at the Cone Manor, Hall also served as a seasonal park ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Hall reveled in designing exhibits and displays at the Cone Manor—a skill Hall used when helping conceptualize Natural Selections, an organic clothing store located in the Boone Mall created from another clothing store called Scott’s of Blowing Rock.
Hall’s ability to design displays, pick fashions and create environments at Natural Selections caught the eye of the owner of Blue Fish Clothing Company, an organic clothing line sold at the store. Hall worked for Blue Fish for eight years, serving as a sales representative for the entire Southeast.
Though the clothing line was successful, the owner of Blue Fish went on to other projects around 2001 and Hall set out to do something new. Her first thought was to go back to school but she noticed a storefront available on King Street.
“I knew Boone needed a great boutique. It didn’t have one for many years and I thought I could do that,” said Hall.
With a little help from her friends, Hall succeeded, as the store has grown its selections and profits every year since it opened. Hall and her employees consider every customer a friend, and are eager to adopt them into the Gladiola Girls family.
“We really enjoy our customers more than we can say,” said Hall. “We’re always happy to see them.”
Hall is even giving customers a little Christmas present this year. On every Wednesday before Christmas Day, Hall invites new and regular customers to Gladiola Girls to draw their own discount out of a hat and enjoy complimentary hot, mulled apple cider—spiked or un-spiked. Customers either receive a coupon for a 10, 20, 30 or 40 percent off that can be applied to the purchase of one item in the store.
Gladiola Girls is located at 549 West King Street in downtown Boone. The boutique is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, click to www.gladiolagirls.com, call 828-264-4120 or email web@gladiolagirls.com.
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