Jan. 17, 2025

Leslie Dolby knew that if she wanted her boutique to stay in business, she had to think differently.

“After coming off a down year for retailers, I knew I needed to shake things up in order to remain open in 2025,” said Dolby, the owner of Dart Boutique at The Bridges at 57th.

“I wanted to bring in new inventory, but I didn’t want the financial burden of purchasing enough new items to fill the store. “

She has several friends who are small-business owners who have closed up shop or aren’t big enough to open their own store.

“I thought this would be a win-win for others to sell their inventory in our retail store while helping us fill the store with fresh new products,” Dolby said. “We’ve always been a store filled with a variety of items for everyone. Now, that mission is expanded even further while supporting other local makers and business owners at the same time.”

Dart Boutique now carries merchandise from 10 vendors in addition to its usual inventory, which includes Judy Blue jeans and women’s clothing in sizes small through 3X. The goal is to partner with online-only boutiques and vendors who make local, handmade items and give them a space to sell their products, Dolby said.

“The response from our announcement was overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “We are doing a straight commission structure for the collaborators, so they aren’t out anything until a product sells. That made it an easy sell to bring vendors in and help us fill the shop with new inventory.”

New offerings include accessories, unique gifts, home decor, kids clothing and bedtime apparel. There is still room for additional vendors. E-mail info@shopdartboutique.com.

“Our customers are excited about the new variety we’ve added,” Dolby said. “It’s also a bonus to support multiple local businesses under one roof. It’s nice to have fresh new items for our regular customers, but it’s a good chance to bring new people into the store who haven’t discovered us yet.”

The boutique is located underneath Oh My Cupcakes at The Bridges, 5015 S. Western Ave. Dart’s inventory also is still available online, but vendor merchandise is in-store only.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon  to 4 p.m. Sunday.