Tori Stevens, 21 of Athens, Ga., works the cash register at Bluegirl Boutique located on Clayton Street in downtown Athens.
By Jourdana Passaro
ATHENS, Ga. — There’s a new ‘girl’ in town and she is showing the Classic City what it means to go green — even with your clothes.
Bluegirl Boutique, located at the intersection of Jackson and Clayton streets, specializes in Boho-hippie attire. Boho-hippie is a style of fashion drawing on various Bohemian and hippie influences. The trend includes long, ‘floaty’ skirts, embroidered tunics, baggy cardigans and large, ‘slouchy’ purses. The store also sells clothing that is made from 100 percent recycled material. In addition to selling organically produced clothing, the eco-friendly boutique sells hand-made jewelry and band posters and stickers.
Owner Amy Shaw graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in retailing and an emphasis in fashion merchandising. " I have always loved fashion and I followed what I loved," Shaw said of her degree choice.
Before the opening of her boutique, Shaw was a stay-at-home mom taking care of her daughters Madison, 6, and Keegan, 2. With encouragement from her husband and the dream to open her own store, Shaw, 29, celebrated Bluegirl Boutique’s grand opening on Jan. 14.
The building where Bluegirl Boutique is now located, was formerly an art and frame shop. The previous shop moved locations and is now situated on Epps Bridge Road.
Athens’ blvd magazine largely promoted the grand opening of Bluegirl Boutique. Blvd magazine is committed to covering fashion in the Athens area. Richard Chamberlain, the drummer and vocalist for the local band Free Lunch, played a small concert for the event. Terrapin beer and wine were offered to attendees while they were able to partake in the store’s opening sales.
Shaw’s love for the Athens-based band Widespread Panic is reflected in her store’s name. "Bluegirl" was inspired by one of her favorite songs, "Little Lilly."
Advertising is done by word-of-mouth for the small boutique in downtown Athens. Since the grand opening, business has been steady. According to Shaw, she has had customers coming in regularly to purchase her store’s merchandise.
"You pay for what you get," said Shaw of her products’ prices. "Organic and recycled clothing lasts longer, wears longer and stays softer. It is a better quality."
A non-organic cotton-made shirt compared to an organic-made one is cheaper yet does not feel as soft. Cotton is organic, however, all cotton sold as organic in the U.S. must meet strict federal regulations covering how it is grown. Organic products are grown using methods and materials that have a minimal impact on the environment. Organic production replenishes and maintains soil fertility and reduces the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers.
Shaw said she supports being eco-friendly. "I want to preserve, protect, and maintain our planet and pave the way for future generations."
Currently, other than Shaw, the boutique has one other employee, Tori Stevens, 21 of Athens, Ga. She is a third year university student majoring in Landscape Architecture. Stevens said that she loves to wear the long skirts sold at the new boutique.
Stevens worked in retail prior to her employment with Bluegirl Boutique. She worked at the Jennings Mill Country Club in Bogart, Ga., for five years. She enjoys working at Bluegirl and advocating the message for Athens to go green.
Annalise Seymour, 19 of Woodbine, Ga., is a second year university student majoring in Early Childhood Education. She said that she shops at the new boutique on Clayton Street. According to Seymour, the store has brightly-colored walls and a relaxed atmosphere. Seymour once purchased a piece of hand-made jewelry that Shaw sells as a gift for her sister.
Celia Burns, a second year at the University of Georgia majoring in English, was glad to learn of an eco-friendly boutique in Athens. "I think it’s proactive and clever."
Burns, 19 of Lawrenceville, Ga., believes it is important to go green because our decisions to help protect the environment will affect future generations. She makes an effort to recycle and use public transportation.
"Using 100 percent recycled materials to make clothing," Burns said, "is just another step in the right direction for preserving our world."
Edited by - Jamie Lamberski
Edited by - Jamie Lamberski
Much better reporting in this revision, with significantly more explanation and detail and less promotional language. Not seeing the store yourself (apparently, since you're relying on a source to describe the inside) is still a significant problem.
ReplyDeleteI did see the store. I went there and interviewed the sources. I thought I was supposed to keep my opinions out of the story.
ReplyDeleteJourdana,
ReplyDeleteYou keep your opinions out of the story, not your facts. Not what you observe. If you go to a store and see brightly colored walls, that's not an opinion (OK, maybe someone will say they colors aren't "bright" -- so just say what the colors are).
I said in my lecture about reporting that we get information from three key places: Interviews with real people; source documents such as official reports, budgets and agendas; and OBSERVATION. Reporters go to meetings so they can describe what happened at the meeting without having to ask people. They go to trials so they can report what they saw and heard at the trial. Same with baseball games, state fairs and traffic accidents. If you weren't at the scene, you rely on someone else to describe the scene for you and then attribute that information.
If you were at the store, don't rely on somebody else to tell you what color the walls are. Take time to describe not just what you saw, but what you heard and smelled. You don't make judgments about it, you just tell what happened. It makes your story much richer and more authentic.
Alright. That makes sense. I was just confused because in my first draft I had described that the owner was energetic, but then you said that that was my opinion, however that's what I had observed when I interviewed her at the store. So when I was told to report only facts I figured I'd keep my senses out of it.
ReplyDeleteJourdana,
ReplyDelete"Energetic" is one of those empty adjectives I discussed in lecture Thursday that doesn't actually describe anything. She must have said and done things that led you to conclude she was energetic, so rather than deliver your judgment of how she is, show me what she said and did that led you to your conclusion. Did she flit around the store like a sparrow? Did she conduct two conversations at once while also folding merchandise and sweeping? Those are observable actions that can lead readers to their own conclusions. Calling her "energetic" doesn't provide that.
By the way, I should have deduced that you were in the store originally by the considering the photograph you took of an employee at the store.