Savannah’s Unique Boutique, a custom-clothing store and boutique opening this weekend at Junction Commons, began eight years ago when then-6-year-old Savannah Padilla started selling homemade soaps door-to-door. “I really enjoyed making it with my mom,” said Savannah, now 14. “It was a real ly fun thing to do that we could do together.” She and her mom, Stephanie, would make the soaps in different shapes and colors, adding flair like shimmer and texture. It was a fun hobby, and her neighbors supported her when she brought them to sell. Savannah sold the soaps at a quarter per, sometimes setting up a booth in the front of her house.“It was something that (Savannah) and I really bonded over,” Stephanie said. It was going well, so they started making more. As the hobby grew into a small business, other small businesses showed support. Park City Desserts let Savannah sell at the store once a month. The duo even began merchandising for other businesses and making custom soaps.When COVID-19 hit, they learned to make bath bombs and expanded their repertoire. Then they started making treats, freeze-dried candies and custom tumblers with Bluetooth speakers in the bottom. Seeing the trend of hat bars popping up, they began selling custom trucker hats, too, and got a booth at the Park Silly Sunday Market.What started as a mother-daughter bonding activity was gaining actual momentum — and profit. Savannah’s Soaps became Savannah’s Treat Boutique became Savannah’s Unique Boutique. And now, almost 10 years later, the two are opening their first brick-and-mortar store in Junction Commons. A custom hat bar is available at Savannah’s Unique Boutique. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordThe retail outlet mall had been looking to include more local businesses, and it was a boon for Stephanie, who had just finished tabling at a 10-day rodeo in Las Vegas. “It felt like the right time. … The thought of having to set up and tear down another booth was exhausting to me,” Stephanie said. “And, you know, I’m missing out on some of my daughter’s softball games, her choir performances, because I was gone or I had to be home making things.” As time had gone on, and the hobby turned into an increasingly successful business, Stephanie took the reins while Savannah focused on what mattered most: being a kid. “I want her to be a kid above all else,” Stephanie said, “so she did come to a lot of the markets with me, but it’s a long day, and it was just a really, really big ask of a 10 year old, 11 year old, to just be there all day trying to sell things.” Savannah still consulted on the products and helped here and there, but Stephanie became the driving force. A child actor and former performer, Stephanie knew she worked best when she had a creative outlet, and though she went to school for broadcast journalism and theater, she did have experience in retail, having franchised a Gymboree Play & Music with a friend. So when other ventures were winding down and Savannah showed interest in soap making, it seemed like good timing for new beginnings. “I consider myself an artist,” Stephanie said. “I have to be doing something creative, whether that’s performing, singing — I have to be creating. And so this all felt like it was a good fit.” Stephanie said she drives the aesthetics of their products, which are vibrant, sparkly and spectacular — mountain glam, she calls it. That’s her vibe, not necessarily Savannah’s. The two balance each other’s tastes, Stephanie said, and Savannah is quick to let her know when something crosses over into being too much. “She is able to tell me, ‘Reality check, reality check! It doesn’t need 20 more rhinestones,’” Stephanie said with a laugh.The store hopes to appeal to everyone, though, not just those partial to the mountain glam glitz. Customers can customize hats, jackets, shirts and more with thousands of accessory items that Stephanie has collected, purchased or even made herself. It’s a smorgasbord of options: pins, brooches, patches, sequins, you name it. “I like making things that are unique and that you are not going to find in any one else’s store,” Stephanie said. A wide variety of patches are available for the custom made clothing. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordIf it all sounds a bit girly, don’t worry, there are plenty of accessories for the boys, too.“I have a huge array of men’s hats and patches that are a little more masculine, things geared toward little boys, little girls, (too),” Stephanie said. “There really is something for everyone here.”Plus, Savannah has her own line of sweatshirts, a brand she calls Sunny Clouds, that she hopes will appeal to her generation.After picking out their accessories, Stephanie puts everything together on the spot, sometimes taking longer if it’s a particularly complex job. She’ll only work on clothing purchased from the store itself, though.“I have been testing temperatures and pressure and glues and different fabric tapes for quite some time, just to make sure that I know what works best with each different fabric that we utilize,” she said.Stephanie said it can be a little nerve-wracking selling accessory items she’s made herself. “Everything in this store is a part of me,” she said. “But I feel like everyone needs a little bit of sparkle in their life, and if they don’t, then they can always buy Savannah’s sweatshirts.”The two have put a lot of work into the business over the years, and Stephanie said it stems from her relationship with her mother, also a successful entrepreneur. “My mom has had her own business probably since her early-to-mid 20s,” Stephanie said, “and so she has always been not only an incredible role model, but she is such a huge part of the behind the scenes of this business.”Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordCredit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordThe support has made all the difference, Stephanie said, and it’s impacted how she’s raised Savannah. “It’s something that I aspire to be with Savannah, whatever path she chooses. I’d like her to be able to feel that kind of support from me as well,” she said.For her part, Savannah said she is still figuring out what she wants to do with her life — she’s only 14, after all — but that she’s excited to sell her own work and support her mom. And she knows that whatever she does, it’ll be something to do with sales.  “I love selling people products. I’m good at it,” Savannah said, laughing. The store opened Friday, and the grand opening runs through Sunday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. each day, during which time everything will be 15% off. It’s a big moment for the family, as the three generations of women have come together to get everything ready to go. “It’s very, very challenging,” Stephanie said, “but I love what I do, and I love seeing Savannah coming full circle and being able to really participate more in the business.”Follow the store on Instagram at @savannahsuniqueboutique.The post Savannah’s Unique Boutique brings mountain glam to Junction Commons appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less