DRIPPING SPRINGS — A high-end boutique designed for women to be able to shop upscale brands of clothing, accessories and shoes is now open in the city of Dripping Springs.
On Friday, Nov. 8, the Dripping Springs location of Monkee’s was filled by a crowd of intrigued community members, visitors and representatives from the local chamber of commerce for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the grand opening.
The independently-owned boutique is part of a larger franchise, with the original Monkee’s store opening in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1995. “Imagine a store beyond your wildest imagination: an upscale, girlie, always-in-style boutique where the owner desired to give her customers the ultimate shopping experience — and even know them by name,” stated the company’s website.
Each boutique location is independently owned and operated, but still carries the mindset of making an intimate shopping experience to help a friend walk out feeling beautiful and looking her best. The brand has cultivated a unique family of small business owners in a supportive and collaborative environment — something that Monkee’s of Dripping Springs owner Elona Appleby recently joined.
“I moved to Dripping [Springs] five years ago. When we moved here, we had no intention of living here long-term. We looked at it as just another thing with my husband's job,” Appleby said. “We ended up falling in love and then, watching it grow the last five years from what it was, being through the journey of its growth and seeing all the young families move here, we ended up falling in love. Our kids fell in love. We feel a part of this community.”
One thing that was lacking for Appleby after her family’s move to Dripping Springs five years ago, despite the city already having breweries, restaurants and other establishments, was a higher-end place for women to shop locally, without having to drive to neighboring cities.
“I always joked that I would one day open a store here, but I didn’t think I would do it. I thought, ‘Well, somebody will do it,’” she explained. “I waited for somebody to do it and nobody did it. So, I thought, ‘You know what? We've decided to make Dripping our forever home and raise our kids here. I might as well do it myself.’ And that's kind of how it all came to fruition.”
Appleby continued to say that nowhere else in Dripping Springs carries what she does in her store.
“A lot of the brands have territories, meaning that nobody else in Dripping is going to be able to carry the brands that I carry here. It goes by a radius, mile radius, depending on each brand. Nobody can carry the brands that I carry here. It’s totally different than what's out there. We have great stores on Mercer that I love and I've shopped there, but they're more geared towards giftables and much lower price point,” the owner said. “We have dresses at Monkee’s that range anywhere from our lowest, maybe, I would say $90 [or] $100 all the way up to a $700 from Alice + Olivia.
Nobody else is carrying Alice + Olivia anywhere around here.”
When looking at whether to be part of a franchise, or to open something completely on her own, Appleby found that the Monkee’s brand already had a great reputation — especially on the East Coast — and she was already familiar with the products because she has been a loyal customer for at least 20 years.
“Monkee’s has such a reputation when it comes to the relationship that they've created with these brands that, had I started one on my own with a random name or brand, it would have been a lot harder for me to be able to carry some top lines that I'm able to carry here and that's due to the relationship that these brands have,” Appleby said.
“With all of the Monkee’s stories, it’s super fun to be able to collaborate with these brands and do exclusive lines just for the Monkee’s stores … What attracted me to Monkee's is that it's a recipe that has been tried and true.”
Being a working mom herself, Appleby explained that the goal for her running Monkee’s is to be able to provide Dripping Springs with a place where moms can drop their kids off at school in the morning and then have an hour of quiet time where they can shop their favorite brands without having to drive at least an hour away. She also hopes to make it a spot where women can create memories, as she is hoping to have different events and trunk shows, as well as hosting hat arts because the Dripping Springs location is the first Monkee’s to have a hat bar.
After watching her store fill up with people from wall to wall on opening weekend, Appleby said that she is grateful for the community support so far.
“They didn't just make my dreams come true. They made my entire team's dreams come true because we worked really, really hard,” she said. “I just want to say thank you to everybody that came out, especially like the first weekend and first week. Whether it was a small purchase or a big purchase, we are all super thankful.”
Monkee’s of Dripping Springs is located at 136 Drifting Wind Run #122. The boutique is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. on Sunday.
To stay up to date on the Dripping Springs location of Monkee’s, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook. com/monkeesofdrippingspringstx or Instagram at @monkeesofdrippingsprings. More information about the overall franchise can be found at www. shopmonkees.com.
