Mattituck’s Love Lane just gained another shopping stop for fashionistas looking to up their spring and summer style.
Bella Grace Boutique (90 Love Lane, Mattituck) opened doors this week and will continue welcoming customers in on May 1 at the Mattituck Chamber of Commerce’s kickoff to their seasonal First Fridays.
“We are super excited,” says Jodi Kral, co-owner of the clothing, jewelry and accessories business. “We are loving everything about Love Lane. It’s a magnificent place to work; our neighbors are wonderful and we’re just so happy.”
Kral and her business partner, best friend and neighbor Stephanie D’Gracia, launched the business named after the duo’s daughters five years ago from D’Gracia’s dining room.
As crafty stay-at-home Manorville moms, they channeled their creativity combined with a friend’s wreath-making skills to launch a small business selling their handmade jewelry at craft sales. Two years in, they were invited to bring their products into the home décor store, Simple Little Detail, when the owner saw a necklace of theirs and loved it.
The home décor store moved to a larger location in Bellport and with it went Bella Grace, filling a corner — and later a back room — thanks to the pair’s success.
In Kral and D’Gracia’s time at Simple Little Detail, they expanded their offerings to include cover ups, shawls, capes and more clothing as time went on.
“Trying to dress the entire world and fit everybody’s style, it was rough at the beginning,” Kral says. “But I think we’re really good at knowing who our clients were,” added D’Gracia.
When a customer alerted them of the vacancy on Love Lane, they jumped on the opportunity. Having shopped on the iconic road years ago and remembering it for its charming atmosphere and welcoming environment, Kral and D’Gracia were eager to make the move.
(Photo credit: Parker Schug)
“Driving onto Love Lane is like being in a Hallmark movie,” says D’Gracia.
On April 1 they got to work adding boutique-style lighting and a dressing room, and they spruced the storefront up with spackle, paint and Mattituck-inspired art.
In just under a month, they filled the racks and shelves with products from their favorite vendors like POL Clothing, Buttermelon, Wishlist Apparel, Blueivy, Dress Form, TCEC, Shiraleah purses, Voluspa candles and Inis fragrances.
“We really feel like we’re totally in our element,” says D’Gracia. “We love to come to work every day.”
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