By Alicia Couch Payne
BUFORD — Buford’s historic Main Street offers people a variety of unique shops and restaurants to choose from, and now patrons have one more shopping option. Impressions Spirit Wear Boutique opened its doors Jan. 15, 2021, at 95 E. Main St.
The boutique is the brainchild of Tracey Bowman, Kim Fenoglia and Debra Bhalla. Each lady brings something unique to the table, or rather boutique, in this case. The ladies are not completely new to putting out merchandise to sell in a retail environment. Each one previously was a vendor at West Main Trade, a coffee shop and consignment type boutique just down the street. When the owners of West Main Trade decided they wanted to downsize to just do coffee, this spurred the trio to take the next step … opening their own storefront.
Impressions Spirit Wear Boutique offers a wide variety of Buford spirit wear, Buford spirit gear (water bottles, key chains, pens, notepads, etc.), gifts, a Charm Bar, women’s clothing and accessories. The merchandise is thoughtfully arranged on antique and vintage furniture that Tracey and her husband, Lynn Bowman, the curator of the Museum of Buford, collected over the years. On the walls are photos from the Buford of yesteryear, which is fitting as the building was built in the late 1800s. The original brick walls are visible in some sections where the plaster was removed.
The building was well maintained through the years. For 100 years, the building was a pharmacy. Three pharmacies to be exact — Buford Drug Co. was the first followed by Simpson Drugs and then Sherwood Drugs, which relocated in the ’90s to a medical building on Nelson Brogdon Boulevard. A large cabinet in the front of the boutique was actually from Sherwood’s and housed cigarettes.
Tracey and Kim will be the smiling faces working the boutique day to day, while Debra will be running their online store. Tracey said she is excited to be in the store four days a week and to be able to reconnect with the community. Her children all went to Buford, she has lived in Buford for a long time and her husband’s family goes way back in Buford’s history. So to reconnect with the people who make Buford quintessentially Buford is something she is looking forward to. Kim has lived in Buford for six years and instantly fell in love with the beauty of the town and the amazing, warm residents.
Giving back to the community is also a priority for the ladies. Previously, they have donated clothing and other items to various causes and they intend to do so in the future as they want to give back to the community that has given so much to them over the years.
The ladies are hosting a grand opening celebration on Saturday, Feb. 6. The celebration will be held keeping social distancing and other precautions due to COVID-19 in mind. The event will include giveaways and discounts on merchandise. More details will be released on social media closer to the event.
Stop by the new boutique, get to know these genuinely kind, lovely ladies, shop a little and admire the history of the building and surrounding area. Impressions is sure to be your go-to gift and spirit wear store and you will be supporting a small local business in the process.
If you prefer to shop online, you can find their online store at www.shopbufordspiritwear.com. They are on Facebook (@tdImpressions), Twitter (@toddletags) and Instagram (tdimpressions).
