On her family’s farm, Michele Pennington motioned over her own clothes — a jumper with stylish chunky heels and a cowboy hat — stressing the in a time not so long ago, she never had a knack for chic Western wear. But times have changed as Michele and her husband, Josh, are set to open the brick and mortar storefront for Opequon View Ranch Boutique, striving to meet the need for fashionable yet affordable Western and farm wear in the area.
The boutique is scheduled for its grand opening on Saturday, a storefront from a dream that quickly transformed for Michele.
“I make homemade tarts, like soy wax melts, and then I was like, ‘I want to get into earrings,’” Michele said. “So I made West Virginia-shaped earrings out of coal from the Foundry. It just went nuts. People were like, ‘You should open up a store. We’d love to come shop.’”
Looking over to one corner of what is now the boutique, Michele and Josh both admitted the plan started as a small area for her creations before exploding into the stylish shop it is today.
“We were talking. There’s no Western anywhere (here),” Michele continued. “You have to go to Lexington, (Ky.). You have to go at least two or three hours away to get any decent boots. There’s some, but they don’t keep up with the trends.
