Willow & Bright hits the ground running

FAIRFIELD — From humble beginnings in a basement to opening their first brick and mortar to moving to a more visible location just down the road, Willow & Bright Boutique has hit the ground running from its inception just over two years ago.

  Buy Photo

Less than a year after opening the doors to its first shop, the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce awarded Willow & Bright Boutique the Rising Star Award at their annual awards banquet in April 2023. This award recognizes a business in their first five years of operation making outstanding contributions to the Fairfield community.

“They took that leap of faith, and now they are realizing a dream,” Chamber President-elect Joneane Parker said of Willow & Bright founders Claire Reid and Shelbee Richards.

The recognition continued as Willow & Bright employee Cassidy Mallinger received the 2024 Student Employee of the Year Award from the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce at their banquet this year thanks to her positive attitude, and excellent customer service which goes “above and beyond.”

This journey, which only gets better with time, all began in January 2022, when Richards, a former teacher, and Reid, a former nurse, embarked on a new business venture opening a women’s clothing boutique in her basement. Just five short months later, they moved Willow & Bright Boutique into its first official shop at 111 N. Main St. in Fairfield.

When Richards and Reid initially opened Willow & Bright they hoped was to provide a space where women could shop for cute clothes in Fairfield. As a self-admitted last-minute shopper, Richards did not like having to drive out of town to find an outfit for an event, now, others like herself in Fairfield don’t have to.

While Reid left Willow & Bright at the end of 2023 to pursue another career, the two remain friends and Richards continues to propel the boutique forward in pursuit of offering a local place for women to shop. At the beginning of 2024, Richards moved one more time to Willow & Bright’s current location at 58 S. Main St. across from Central Park.

In addition to receiving recognition from the Fairfield Chamber and moving to its best location yet, Richards has expanded Willow & Bright’s inventory and added more shopping hours.

While her inventory still includes staples like dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, rompers, and jewelry, Willow & Bright customers can now pick up Spanx at the boutique on the square. The expanded inventory also includes specialty soaps and cleaning products from Fairfield’s Revival Market.

Additionally, with Willow & Bright’s new location right next door to High Temperature Dance Studio, it only makes sense that they now carry children’s dance apparel alongside their other children’s clothing.

With an expansion of inventory and new shop with more visibility, Willow & Bright now offers more hours to shop. While initially closed on Mondays, those looking to check out all the newest merchandise can now stop in Monday evenings from 4-7 p.m. Additionally, the shop is open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com