April 30, 2024

Downtown’s longest-running boutique has a new name and a new look inside.

Chelsea’s Boutique is now Heritage Boutique, following its purchase by Emma Schulz last year from founder Chelsea Giedd.

“Heritage is the first name that came to me even before I did any research in rebranding, and it just stuck with me. It was the name before I really even knew I was going forward with a full rebrand,” Schulz said.

“‘Heritage,’ I believe, holds a lot of different meanings for everyone. I personally never saw my life changing into what it has — I have lost and gained a lot over the last four to five years. Everything I have experienced has been a pivotal moment in contributing to who I am.”

The name “Heritage” means “less having to do with traditions and more so the bits and pieces we choose to take away from our life experiences, to hold within ourselves to make you stronger and to make you a better person,” Schulz continued. “This is what inspires me about all women.”

With the rebrand, she’s also continuing to evolve the clothing style from the boutique’s original bohemian into “being really fresh and modern, clean and classic pieces to celebrate the uniqueness that I find in every woman and to really highlight their journey by having items that can grow with them and make them feel as beautiful as they are through many life transitions,” she said.

“Women in general go through so many transitions and big life changes — it makes up who they are and who they choose to be. This is so intriguing to me and what I believe makes all women so beautiful and truly unique. This is why I went with ‘Heritage’ because I have the privilege of holding such a beautiful space in which I have met the most authentic, inspiring and strongest women I’ve ever known.”

The newly renamed store at 220 S. Phillips Ave. will hold a grand opening from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. It will continue to accept gift cards and rewards from Chelsea’s for the next couple months, but there will be a cutoff posted on social media. The website has transitioned to shopheritageboutique.com.

“The transfer of ownership has gone well so far,” Schulz said. “It is still crazy to me that I own my own space and often have to remind myself that I am not going in as manager anymore but as owner. I have really loved how much it’s challenged me as well as how much I have grown professionally and personally.”

Shortly after she took over the store, “the economy really took a turn for the worse … so that has been a definite challenge for all small-business owners,” she continued.

“I have really grown a lot in figuring out how to quick pivot to get through the tension-filled times. But these are things that I would never have known, and the knowledge is invaluable. Overall, I am very grateful for the space and super excited for all of the changes ahead. If we didn’t have ones from our community showing up, we quite literally wouldn’t have made it through the slow season and the economy drop. (I’m) just very grateful to still be here and to have the ability to continue holding this space.”