A little over two years ago, Carli Barr created her own clothing company called Barr Bones. What began as an online store blossomed into a mobile boutique by July 2019.
After that, Barr said she always knew that brick-and-mortar would be her next step. On Saturday, Barr’s dream came true with the opening day of Barr Bones located at 105 W. 2nd St.
“The grand opening day was such a success,” she said. “Steady traffic all day long and so many new faces. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off this new venture.”
The storefront is temporary for now, only staying open through the end of the year. But, Barr said depending on how the next two months go, a permanent location might be a possibility.
“If we see the demand, I’m totally open to the idea of a permanent location in Owensboro,” she said. “At the end of the day, that’s my real dream. Online, mobile, and brick-and-mortar, all running cohesively and successfully, that’s what the future (hopefully) holds.”
Barr said about two weeks ago, her best friend Molly Higgins of Molly’s Mixins, and her mom Anne Higgins of Willow and Pine Market, got the idea for Barr Bones to have a temporary storefront.
“Anne opened her first location at 105 W. 2nd St., back in February and just a couple of weeks ago moved across the street into a bigger location,” she said. “She still has her lease until March of 2021, so she offered me the opportunity to sublease from her for the holiday season. A ‘holiday pop-up’ if you will. Of course, I couldn’t say yes fast enough.”
Barr said now that she has the storefront location, she’ll be stocking up on gift items for the holidays and are including more size-inclusive pieces as well.
Barr said her parents have been instrumental in getting the store up and running.
“We’ll see how it goes,” she said. “It’s the best of both worlds — gets our name out there, customers can finally have a full shopping experience in person with us — and all during the busiest season of retail — but without having to make a full commitment. Since the lease is up in March, we do have the ability to extend until then if we want, so who knows what will happen.”
While Barr said the store is easy to miss, she said giant skull logos on the front doors should make it easy for everyone to find.
