Sisters-in-law open new clothing store

Russellville natives Kelly Little and LeAnn McReynolds Little have recently discovered what it takes to turn a dream into a reality.

In December, the two sisters-in-law became the proud owners of Russellville’s newest clothing and accessory store: Southern Bliss Boutique.

Owning a clothing store specializing in trendy and unique items is something that both women have wanted to do since they were young.

“I have always loved clothes and dressing up, even when I was young,” Kelly said, “and throughout high school, I actually wanted to have a career in fashion. It’s just something that I’ve always enjoyed.”

Kelly said when she first met LeAnn, she couldn’t believe how much they had in common. She said she was lucky to have a sister-in-law she could share so much with.

“LeAnn loves to shop and try on clothes and accessorize,” Kelly said. “It wasn’t long before we both started dreaming of opening a store together.”

Kelly said she and LeAnn talked about owning their own store for a year or so before they actually decided to take the plunge and make it happen.

“My dad finally said, ‘You two can just keep talking about this or you can actually do it,’ and it really made us think,” Kelly said. “We just decided, basically overnight, that this was something we really cared about doing so we started making our plans.”

Kelly said they made their decision to move forward at the first of October and they went to their first market a couple of weeks later.

“We went to market in Atlanta at the end of October and we had no clue what to expect,” she said. “When we walked in, there were 11 floors of vendors and we didn’t even know where to start.”

“We were pretty overwhelmed at first, but the vendors were so helpful,” LeAnn added. “After we had been there for a while we started to get more comfortable with the process and we ended up having a lot of fun.”

Kelly and LeAnn said they both could remember the first piece of clothing they bought that weekend for their store – a sweater dress they have already sold out of.

“That was just a special moment when we found that first dress we wanted to sell in the store,” Kelly said. “It just made it so real for us, that we were really doing this.”

LeAnn said having a partnership and someone to go through the experience with was much better than jumping into the experience alone.

“We have definitely had fun with each other, but there have been certain aspects of opening this business that have been scary,” LeAnn said. “Our partnership has made this less stressful and has allowed us to lean on one another when one of us started to panic about something.”

One of the first decisions the pair had to make was where their business would be located – a decision that was made easier thanks to Kelly’s dad, Jerry, who owns the building on U.S. 43 where Southern Bliss Boutique is now located.

“My dad already had this building and was willing to let us use it, so financially it just worked out better for us to start our business here,” Kelly said, “but that wasn’t the only reason we chose Franklin County.

“I can remember growing up here and having a special occasion come up unexpectedly. I was thankful for the few clothing stores we had, but it was always discouraging to have so few choices.

“We wanted to open a store that sold trendy, unique and affordable clothing and accessories so girls in this area could have choices that are a little different than what they would normally see.”

To stay true to this unique and vintage feel that Kelly and LeAnn have created, Southern Bliss Boutique stocks items that are fairly rare and one-of-a-kind.

“When we order a certain dress or skirt or top, we don’t reorder those things when we sell out of them – when they’re gone, they’re gone,” Kelly said. “Women who shop in our store can know that they’ll have something other women may not be wearing.”

And to add extra charm, Southern Bliss Boutique also carries many items made by local vendors.

“We carry a line of bracelets made by a lady in Gadsden,” LeAnn said. “She makes them out of different recycled materials and they have gone over really well.

“We also sell jewelry made by Franklin County native Alana Posey. Her jewelry is very unique and we’re excited to be selling jewelry that was made by someone right here in the area.”

Right now, Southern Bliss Boutique caters to a somewhat younger clientele, but Kelly and LeAnn said they were looking to expand that range to include women from teenagers on up.

“We’ll be going to market again in a few weeks to look for items for spring, and we want to start stocking items that women of all ages would enjoy wearing,” Kelly said.

Both Kelly and LeAnn said their first month has been productive, but they said their motivation for opening a clothing store was never fame or fortune. They simply wanted to open a store for the fun and excitement the experience would bring.

Both women are schoolteachers – Kelly teaches math intervention to first and second graders at Muscle Shoals and LeAnn teaches third grade at Russellville Elementary School – and they said owning Southern Bliss Boutique is just a way for them to enjoy their passion for fashion and accessories when they aren’t in the classroom.

“Being a teacher is my first love,” LeAnn said. “I adore teaching and I love my students. It’s just fun to come here after school and on the weekend and play dress up with all the ladies who visit our store.”

“It’s exciting to see women try on the clothes we’ve picked out to sell and fall in love with them,” Kelly added. “We just have a good time and we want our customers to have a good time, too.”

While Kelly and LeAnn are teaching during the day, both of their mothers hold down the fort at the store, a job Kelly and LeAnn are thankful their mothers wanted to have.

“When you’ve just started a business, it can be hard to trust just anyone with taking care of things while you’re not there, but our moms have stepped in and helped us out so much,” Kelly said.

“I don’t know what we’d do without them,” LeAnn said. “It’s just nice to know we can depend on them when we’re not there.”

Southern Bliss Boutique is located at 9905 U.S. 43 South. They’re open on Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.