WORTHINGTON — Just a year and a half since launching their online women's boutique, best friends and business partners Laura Koepsell and Kailey Wendland opened a brick-and-mortar store in Worthington this month.
Hers & Mine Boutique is located at 922 Fifth Ave., across from Sterling Drug.
"It's been really good to see people's faces and shop with them in person," Koepsell said of their first two weeks in Worthington.
"Everyone who comes in here is in awe," Wendland agreed.
The entrepreneurs have busy lives already. Both are planning weddings (Koepsell in August and Wendland in November), and both are keeping their full-time jobs (Koepsell as a stylist next door at Primp Salon and Wendland as a marketing specialist at Jaycox). The timing was right, however, to move forward with their next step, and everything fell into place.
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Wendland and Koepsell explained that they wanted to open somewhere where their business could complement those around it. They ended up finding space on the same block with two newly remodeled businesses, Primp Salon and Worthington Massage & Wellness, which they see as an asset for all three spaces. The businesses send customers to each other frequently.
The shop opened right before Regatta weekend, and Koepsell shared that when she attended the annual festival, she loved seeing people wearing clothes they'd purchased at Hers & Mine.
Wendland added that having a downtown business has changed her own shopping habits, as well. She now focuses more on supporting local businesses, rather than going to a one-stop shop.
Hers & Mine operates under the motto of "community over competition," and the business partners live that out in their interactions with other businesses. They hope their enterprise can help drive more dollars downtown and into other local shops, too.
While they now have a physical storefront, Koepsell and Wendland will still maintain their online store at hersandmineboutique.com . Customers can shop online and pick up their purchases in the store, or come in and browse.
Summer hours at Hers & Mine are: Monday and Wednesday, 2 to 7 p.m.; Friday 4:30 to 7 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eventually the owners would like to be open Monday through Saturday, and they'll work toward that as they expand their team. Other goals moving forward include more inventory options and hosting special events.
They've already got two events planned this summer: a July 14 grand opening, jointly with the whole block, and Christmas in July, where they'll feature special discounts on winter inventory. July 24 will have deals in store, and July 25 will have sales online.
Koepsell and Wendland want to thank their families for helping them get the storefront ready. Koepsell's father did all the painting, and Wendland's dad built the desk, shelves and racks. Moms and siblings helped with cleaning, unpacking and organizing the space.
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Other local businesses contributed, too. Rachael Marie Designs made their sign inside on the back wall, and Behrends Signworks made the sign for the outside.
"This is exactly what we both pictured," Wendland said.
