Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Shelby Hartin
CO-OWNERS — Dawn Merry and Brandy Brooks, co-owners of Unique Boutique, recently moved their shop to 14 Houlton Road in Island Falls. The consignment shop represents a total of 85 consigners who offer unique, handmade items at reasonable prices.
By Shelby Hartin
Student Intern
ISLAND FALLS – Unique Boutique was created with three goals in mind: to provide an outlet for the sale of local crafters’ products, to offer merchandise catered to all those who would enter the shop and to act as a year-round craft fair for locals.
“Six months ago, Brandy and I both decided that we wanted to do something new, and she had come up with the idea of starting a business,” Dawn Merry, co-owner of Unique Boutique said.
After exchanging ideas, Merry and co-owner Brandy Brooks decided that a consignment shop would be an economically logical choice.
Unique Boutique offers all manner of handmade crafts, from scarves, purses and jewelry, to dreamcatchers, quilts and baby clothes. In return for their representation in the consignment shop, local crafters agree to sell their products at a small markup.
“I would say 90 percent of what’s in here comes from within a 20-mile radius, so we tend to think of it as ‘recycled money.’ We write out anywhere from 30 to 60 checks a month that goes right back into other people’s pockets as well as our own,” Merry said of the consignment process.
Merry and Brooks represent a number of crafting practices. As long as it’s handmade, it is acceptable for sale in Unique Boutique.
“If you make it unique, you make it your own, or it’s one-of-a-kind, we’ll take it,” Merry said.
“We accept anything that you couldn’t just go to Walmart and buy,” Brooks added.
Unique Boutique opened last November in a space at the back of Patrick Hunt’s law office in Island Falls, but Merry and Brooks recently moved their shop to a new location.
“[Hunt] was wonderful to us, but we went in knowing that it wasn’t the best location. It’s not on Main Street and we were hidden from people, so we always knew it wouldn’t be where we would stay,” Merry said of the boutique’s original location.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Shelby Hartin
HANDMADE ITEMS — Unique Boutique offers all manner of handmade crafts. Pictured here are various items for children. All of the furniture that items rest on or in, like the crib pictured, are also for sale.
“Peter Connelly [the owner of the new location] came along and we got to talking about buildings in the area and this one came up,” she continued. Unique Boutique closed for two weeks while Merry and Brooks packed its contents and planned a move to 14 Houlton Road in Island Falls, a location nestled comfortably beside the Briar Patch and across from the River Cafe on Main Street.
Merry and Brooks reopened for business on Tuesday, May 28 and expressed their confidence in the new location. Unique Boutique is now housed in a much larger space where Merry and Brooks have more room to work and represent their consigners.
“We have 85 consigners and we’ve only been open for six months. 80 of those we’ve had for five months. The last few we picked up just recently. They come to us,” Merry said when asked of the acquisition of consigners.
“When people come in and see how we have [the boutique] set up and how fun it is, they want their stuff in here. They’re excited to see everything all in one place. It’s like a craft fair that goes on all year,” Brooks added.
Brooks also commented that the setup of the products in the boutique is conducive to a decorator’s eye.
“The furniture that things are sitting on is for sale as well as the actual products, so when you come in, if it’s set up in a way that you enjoy, you could buy the whole setup,” Brooks explained.
Unique Boutique has seen much success since their opening in November of 2012 and Merry and Brooks hope to see their business grow further.
“The people that have shopped here have continued to come back. The community supports a small business,” Brooks said of the encouragement the two have received.
When it comes to support, Merry and Brooks have not been alone in their new business venture; they also have not been alone in working to establish a new business in the Island Falls area.
When asked of various other new businesses that have recently opened in Island Falls, Merry and Brooks were optimistic.
“We’ll all help each other. There are a lot of businesses opening in town now. Competition is wonderful. That’s what makes things thrive. Our hope is that we’ll all benefit from one another,” Merry said.
Unique Boutique is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Merry and Brooks can be contacted at (207) 463-2008 with any questions about the shop, its products, or consignment opportunity.
