Right in the heart of Farmville lies one of nine Penelope’s Boutiques, a small jeweler and clothes store chain unique to Virginia. It’s located along main street near Uptown Café anytime you’re down to shop after some nice, hot coffee.
Penelope’s manager Amy Welch said, “We specialize in gifts pretty much for whoever you need to shop for. If we don’t have what you’re looking for, we can get it for you as well.”
Penelope’s Boutique was founded in 1988 by Penelope Searcy in Lynchburg, Va. Now, it’s run as a family business. Farmville just celebrated their 29th year of having Penelope’s Boutique a part of their town.
Walking into Penelope’s, I was blown away by the amount of accessories they had. They had multiple racks filled up to be a girls shopping paradise, including necklaces, scarves and wallets! The whole store was organized by color scheme, which made it that more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
All along the walls were hangers and shelves filled with casual and sports clothing. The center of the store had a footwear display, which carried TOMs, and a clearance rack - smart shopping never hurt anyone.
Display windows of their expensive jewelry collections sat in near the back of the store. If you’ve ever walked into Kay Jewelers, you’ll know the feel of how Penelope’s Boutique is.
Welch said, “Ever since we added jeweler brands like Pandora and Alex & Ani, we’ve been receiving more Longwood students. Most students usually stop at boutiques closer to Madison street, but we’ve got a lot here too.”
Although I was walking around the store, mesmerized at all the merchandise, it’s definitely not cheap. This could be a potential business disadvantage when it comes to store options in the town of Farmville for college students. Let me put this into perspective. I walked toward the apparel clearance rack where the sign read, “50% off,” which is usually a good sign. However, some glances at the tags revealed that most of items stated, “WAS $60.99, NOW $30.99.” According to my wallet, that’s not really a sale or clearance item.
Welch said as a first-time customer, you’ll be asked for your name and email to start a clientele profile and receive weekly emails on hot deals and new products coming in. Hopefully these “hot deals” come sooner as we approach spring because, as much as that store may hurt my wallet, I can’t resist. As we near graduation, Penelope’s Boutique would be the perfect place to shop for gifts.
Penelope’s Boutique is opened from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Saturday, then is closed on Sundays. Go check it out and tell Amy The Rotunda sent you!
To see hear more from Paulina, visit her Beauty Community blog at https://paulysbeautycommunity.com/.
