VALE – There is something for everyone at Boutique 192.
The business, at 192 A St. E, sells items that run the gamut from essential oils, pain cream, house plants, Tupperware, sunglasses, home décor, yard art, fresh jams, quilt and pillows.
Then there are rope baskets, soaps, lotions, shampoos, Avon products along with bath bombs and nail tips. A customer can also find wallets, purses and western clothes at the store.
“If there is s something we don’t have we will try to get it,” said Boutique 192 owner Jackie Lemer.
Boutique 192 provides a space for more than 26 vendors from the local area and the shop celebrated its one-year anniversary in April.
Lemer said she and former Vale resident Dorinda McPheeters partnered to open the store. McPheeters eventually moved to Fruitland and Lemer stepped in to take over the business.
Lemer said the store was meant to be.
“It just kind of happened. People would ask, what does it take to get a spot? So, we started adding vendors,” said Lemer.
Lemer said her vendors make the shop a success.
“Support from vendors makes it worthwhile to come down here every day,” said Lemer.
The store, open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is already building a wide clientele, said Lemer.
“We get people from Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Weiser. We hear from our clients and customers, please don’t ever close,” said Lemer.
The store also draws international customers, said Lemer.
“Last year we had people from the Netherlands and Belgium who were looking for souvenirs to take back to their friends,” said Lemer.
Lemer said she also offers a monthly “foot soak” get-together. The event, set for the third Thursday every month, costs $35 and allows customers to douse their feet, get a dinner and a bag of gifts, said Lemer.
Lemer said vendors are charged between $30 and $50 to sell their products in the shop.
Lemer, 52, said she and her husband came to Malheur County in 1989 from North Dakota. They moved to the area so her husband could take a job, she said.
Lemer said she likes being a small business owner.
“I get to work for myself. I don’t have to punch someone else’s clock. You learn to take the good with the bad because it all balances out in the end,” said Lemer.
Lemer said she believes the overall “positiveness” of her store makes a difference in the community.
“We try to reach out and help (the community) when we can. I love this store because I love helping people,” said Lemer.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE – The Malheur Enterprise delivers quality local journalism – fair and accurate. You can read it any hour, any day with a digital subscription. Read it on your phone, your Tablet, your home computer. Click subscribe – $7.50 a month.