Dress like you are famous

SEELEY LAKE – A customer walked into j's you-nique boutique Clothing and Gifts after being encouraged to check out the new store in the Bison and Bear Center. She proceeded to browse and was excited to see the selection and the reasonable prices.

Owner and saleswoman Jody Heryford smiled, quickly struck up a conversation with her new customer and helped her find other items she may like.

"I hope my customers like the clothing and I hope they like the prices," Heryford said. "I hope they feel comfortable letting me know what they want so I can get in what the community wants and needs."

While selling clothing and other items on Ebay since 2006, this is Heryford's first retail experience.

"I love shopping. I've always liked clothing and been into fashion," Heryford said. "It is just fun."

Working as a respiratory therapist for more than 20 years and working 60-72 hours a week as a traveling respiratory therapist to areas hardest hit by COVID, she was ready for a change of pace.

"I've always wanted to do a store," Heryford said. "After traveling for the past two and a half years it was time to take a little break from medical for the summer. I love being in respiratory but it was stressful. I definitely don't want to get out of respiratory...full time is three days a week so come fall I'm hoping I could juggle both."

Heryford moved to Seeley Lake in March to live with her boyfriend Nino Robinett. She had the idea of opening her own clothing store since everyone kept telling her Seeley needs a clothing store. With no available storefronts, she considered opening an online clothing store. When the owner of the Bison and Bear Center told her the Trail Creek Merc was vacating their space the end of June, this gave her the storefront of her dreams.

To start building her inventory, Heryford searched online and found her three main suppliers. She also researched what online boutiques were selling, what was cute and their suppliers as well as talked about popular styles and the business with her friend from Lewistown, Montana, her hometown, who owns a store.

The first thing Heryford bought was swimsuits.

"There are lots of lakes here and my daughter told me to sell swimsuits," Heryford said. "Then the coverups came in and it just started a rolling effect."

J's you-nique boutique offers a range of women's clothing including swimsuits, skirts, dresses, day-to-day bras and underwear, lightweight jackets, tops, jeans, yoga pants and shoes. Her styles range from teens to older women and sizes small to 5XL. She offers a line of "Mommy and Me" t-shirts and hopes to expand offering children's and men's clothing in the future.

"Right now I have a lot of different things just because I didn't know what styles were going to go and what were the most popular sizes," Heryford said. "I picked out stuff I would wear, knew my mom would wear and my daughter [21-year-old Jaileyana] picked out stuff she and her friends would like."

After officially opening July 15 with an extensive summer line, Heryford looks forward to updating her inventory for the seasons. This fall she is excited to offer new school clothes for students and teachers and in the spring she hopes to bring in formal dresses for prom.

With the storefront, Heryford expanded her inventory from women's clothing to include sunglasses, jewelry, headbands, belts, caps, hats and purses and some hand-made gifts.

"I want to have it full so I have everything that people could need," Heryford said. "The stuff in here could be for both locals and tourists. It is everyday clothing."

While she does not have a retail background, Heryford said her love of shopping and sense of style will help make the store successful.

"I'm just excited. I love it here, it is just so beautiful," Heryford said. "The big cities I've had the last couple of years, it is so nice to be back in a small town."

J's you-nique boutique is located in the Bison and Bear Center, 3166 Highway 83. It offers gift certificates, shipping and lay-away. The store is open Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday. Find "j's you-nique boutique" on Facebook and follow the page for up-to-date sales, new inventory and other updates.