Meet the Shopkeeper: Curtsy Bella Boutique
For gifts and sweet somethings that don’t take life too seriously, check out this U District fun shop.
Posted by: Mattie Stager on Nov 14, 2011 at 06:45AM
1 Comments
When you’re looking for a little levity, and/or a lighthearted, slightly sassy, irreverent, girly and iconic gift or two, Curtsy Bella Boutique, on the NE Blakeley strip of shops behind U Village, is hard to beat. Co-owned by mother/daughter team Mary Jo Thomas and Danielle Fayette, the shop is a hot pink-and-black haven of offbeat humor and pop-culture gadgetry where gilded fleur de lis mix it up with shiny black skulls and pretty panties go with cocktail truffles and Tarina Tarantino’s Lady GaGa-ready costume jewelry line.
Oh, and if Fayette looks familiar to you, perhaps it’s because we featured her wedding—complete with four costume changes and a Marie Antoinette theme—in a recent issue of Seattle Met Bride and Groom.
Meet the gals and take a spin through a day in their life.
WWW: What song or album is playing on your store’s sound system right now?
Thomas and Fayette: Brite Futures, Craft Spells, and the Grand Gamble are on constant rotation. They’re all local, up and coming, amazing Seattle bands.
What was your first job in retail? What did you love or hate about it and how does it compare to what you do now?
Both of our first retail jobs were with a husband-and-wife team that owned three amazing gift boutiques in Arizona. Danielle begged them to let her start working for them in 7th grade and she stayed with them until she left for college. Mary Jo joined the team after making the decision to sell her flight school. We loved that we knew the majority of our customers by name, and they ours. We learned how invaluable superb customer service is and the value of establishing long-term relationships with clients.
Also, the difference is always in the details, complimentary gift wrap, a handwritten thank you note when someone helps to promote the business, chocolates slipped into someone’s bag when they’ve come in for retail therapy and need a pick-me-up. We never forgot those values and built our store with those as our guiding principles. Now, being the owners, we get to shop! Buying is definitely our favorite part, along with figuring out creative ways to grow.
What’s your favorite thing in the store right now?
We’re in the middle of transforming the store into a winter wonderland, which includes putting out oodles of new merchandise. It’s difficult to pick only one favorite item so we narrowed the field down to three. Our snarky holiday towels which we embroider onsite were a huge hit last year and we’ve brought them back and added a few new sayings. Tokyomilk Milk is a collection of fragrances, lip elixirs, and hand lotions with fabulous exotic scents and gorgeous packaging. Cardboard Safari is the coolest line of trophy heads made from recycled, laser cut cardboard. They are easy to assemble and can be painted to match your décor.
Where do you shop when you’re not at your store?
We love exploring Seattle neighborhoods and seek out interesting independent stores. One of our current favorites is our neighbor Gracious House to Home. They have absolutely cool, vintage finds!
What do you love about your store’s neighborhood? What nearby restaurants, coffee shops, etc do you recommend?
We love what we call the “North Village” neighborhood! There are so many amazing shops and restaurants behind University Village! Up on 55th, there are the restaurants Pair, Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Parlor and Queen Mary Tea Room. Retailers include Altstadt Interiors, Planet Happy Toys and on NE Blakeley St there’s Swoop Salon, Zoka Coffee, Village Framing, Gracious House to Home, and Shoe Zoo, plus loads more amazing independent shops!
What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened in your store?
Oh, so many weird things have happened in our five-and-a-half years in business! One that’s close to the top of the list just happened yesterday; one of our giant glitter ice cream cones fell from its hook and broke a huge ceramic golf ball that was part of a display in the men’s section!
