Ohhhhh... our boutique has already been open for a month and a half, and somehow I've managed to leave BOUTIQUE DIARIES unfinished at the most interesting part! Don't worry, I'm here to fix that!
Let's continue where we left off. In the previous chapter, I shared everything about our Grand Opening Day, how it went, what the day looked like and all the emotions that came with it.
But before we move on to what life has been like since opening the boutique, there's still one very important part of the journey I want to share with you. All those little details I kept secret until opening day!
Throughout the renovation, I shared quite a lot of our journey, but there were a few things I deliberately kept to myself. I simply didn't want to reveal the entire boutique before we opened our doors. Now I can finally show you how all those little details came together.
The Vision I Had in My Head
As I've mentioned in previous Boutique Diaries, every little detail mattered to me. And I really mean EVERY detail. Choosing the furniture, colours, rugs, mirrors, lighting and even the smallest decorations turned out to be surprisingly difficult.
I had a pretty clear vision in my head of how I wanted Soulehe to look and feel. The difficult part was finding the actual pieces that matched that vision.
It was also important to us to find as many things as possible here in Griffith and support local businesses. Of course, there were still a few pieces of furniture we had to order because we simply couldn't find everything locally.
I've honestly lost count of how many times I visited different shops. Some days I was looking for something very specific, and other days I was just wandering around, hoping something would catch my eye. And little by little, that's how everything started coming together.
My Favourite Corner of the Entire Boutique
Okay, now I HAVE to tell you about my absolute favourite part of the boutique. The coffee table and mirror corner! AHHHHH! I'm still so in love with it!
And honestly, I got incredibly lucky finding some of these pieces. Let's start with the rug. I wasn't even specifically looking for a rug that day. I spotted it completely by accident and immediately knew THIS WAS THE ONE! It just had to be in our boutique. And can you believe it was the very last one in the shop? Even better, I managed to get it at a discounted price.
Then came the mirror, coffee table, sofa, lamp and shelving cabinet, which we found and ordered during those final weeks before opening. All these pieces were chosen separately, but when they finally came together in one corner, they matched SO beautifully. The colours, shapes, materials and all those little details just worked.
And then came the cherry on top. Or should I say, the final piece of the puzzle. The floor lamp!
I was wandering around Bunnings one day, and honestly, I can't even remember what I was looking for. But then I spotted this floor lamp, and I immediately knew it was exactly what our little corner was missing!
Once we put it in place, the whole corner suddenly felt complete. I know it's just a lamp, but for me, it was one of the best finds of the entire boutique project. Sometimes it's that one little detail that brings everything together.
The Counter That Turned Into a Little DIY Project
Now, let's talk about the counter. This one was a bit of a headache. We searched everywhere, but nothing felt quite right.
I didn't want a big traditional shop counter taking up too much space in the boutique. I wanted something small, cute and minimalistic, almost like a little chest of drawers that would fit neatly into the corner. Something practical that wouldn't take over the space.
Sounds simple enough, right? Well, apparently not!
We couldn't find anything that matched what I had in mind, so eventually we decided to make it ourselves. Yes, another DIY project!
The counter ended up being one of the very last things we finished, but I'm so happy we went with this solution. It fits into the corner exactly how I imagined.
The Shelves Turned Out Even Better Than I Imagined
Another thing I'm incredibly happy with is our shelving. Originally, I had a much simpler solution in mind, but the final result turned out even better than I could have imagined.
Instead of ordinary shelving cabinets, we ended up with a much more interesting display that fits the boutique's style beautifully. And the LED lighting! It's incredible how much difference it makes.
I wanted the jewellery to have enough space to stand out without making the boutique feel overcrowded. As all the displays started coming together, I could finally begin to imagine what the finished boutique would look like.
But getting those shelves and mirrors onto the walls... well, that was a whole different adventure.
The Final Week Did NOT Go According to Plan
Let me first tell you what my original plan was. One week before opening, I wanted all the furniture to be in place and at least half of the products already displayed. That would leave me with the final week to focus on pricing, decorating, little finishing touches and preparing for Grand Opening Day.
Sounds like a great plan, right? Well... reality was VERY different!
During the final week, we were still putting all the furniture together. Installing the mirrors and shelves took so much longer than we expected. And our walls? Let's just say they're not exactly straight.
Now imagine trying to get mirrors and shelves perfectly level when the walls themselves are crooked! At times, it honestly felt like an impossible task. But we got there! Just much later than planned.
So instead of spending the final week calmly working on the finishing touches, we were still assembling furniture, adjusting shelves and trying to get everything ready in time.
Finally, the Fun Part: Displaying the Jewellery!
Once all the furniture was FINALLY in place, I could start doing something I'd been looking forward to for weeks. Putting out all the jewellery!
This took me around three days. I wanted every bracelet, necklace, pair of earrings and little display to have its own place. After spending so much time choosing the furniture and planning the layout, I wanted the jewellery displays to be just as carefully thought out.
Then came the price tags and checking everything. And checking it again. And probably checking it another ten times, just to be sure.
Meanwhile, Hans was also building our POS system, so alongside decorating and pricing, we had to test that everything was working properly. And somehow, between assembling furniture, arranging jewellery, making price tags, testing the system and finishing endless little jobs, our boutique was finally starting to look ready.
And then came a moment I'll never forget.
The Moment We Finally Removed the Pink Window Covers
If you've been following our renovation journey, you'll definitely remember those pink window covers. We'd covered the entire shopfront because I didn't want anyone to see the finished boutique before opening day.
But one thing we hadn't really thought about in the beginning was how much those pink covers would change the lighting inside the shop. For weeks, the entire boutique had a pink glow. We could see the furniture and decorations, of course, but we didn't really know what the whole space would look like in proper natural light.
We knew that once those covers came off, the lighting and the feeling of space would completely change. And we were SO excited for that moment!
At the same time, we didn't want to remove them during the day because everyone walking past would get to see the boutique before the opening. And we definitely didn't want to leave that job until the morning of Grand Opening Day. So we came up with a plan.
Friday, September 11: The Night Before Opening
By September 11, everything was finally ready. During the day, I was still arranging the last little details, picking up flowers and balloons, and making sure everything looked beautiful.
That evening, Hans and I went to La Scala for dinner. Partly to celebrate, but also because we needed to wait until it was dark. We didn't want to remove the pink covers in daylight and spoil the surprise before opening.
After dinner, around 8 or 9 pm, we went back to the boutique. And finally, we pulled down the pink window covers.
OHHHHHH! I honestly don't even know how to describe that feeling. WOW.
For the first time, we could see our boutique properly, without that pink glow. All the furniture, the jewellery displays, my favourite mirror corner, the lighting, the colours... EVERYTHING!
It was even more beautiful than I had imagined. And standing there, looking at the space we'd spent so many weeks working on, it all finally started to sink in.
WE DID IT!
All those endless shopping trips, difficult decisions, DIY projects, late nights, furniture assembly and hundreds of little details had finally come together.
Our very first Soulehe boutique was ready.
And Just Like That, We Were Ready for Opening Day
After that, we went home to get some sleep before the big day. Or at least we tried! Neither of us slept particularly well that night. There was just too much excitement, anticipation and probably a little nervousness too.
The next morning, September 12, we officially opened the doors to our very first Soulehe boutique in Griffith. But you've already read all about that day in Boutique Diaries #5.
Now you also know what was happening behind the scenes before we got there. Looking back at these photos, it's still a little hard to believe that a completely empty space became the boutique we have today.
Every little detail has its own story, and I'm so happy I finally got to share those stories with you.
In the next Boutique Diaries, we'll move on to something completely different: what life has actually been like since opening our first boutique.
Until next time!
Brenda
Soulehe