- November 23, 2024
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‘I really wanted to bring something new and different to Ormond Beach.’
“If it’s not moving, monogram it.” This saying by Reese Witherspoon is on a large blackboard in a new gift and apparel shop at 218 E. Granada Blvd., and it seems to be the theme of the shop.
Just about everything in the store, from baby items to bridal gifts, can be monogramed with initials, names or designs.
“It adds something special,” said owner Kimberly Sarzier. “I have a machine in the store.”
The fashions and designs were inspired by the “preppy” clothing stores she saw in Tallahassee. Monograms are also very popular, she said.
“I really want to bring something new and different to Ormond Beach,” she said.
The Ormond Beach native and Seabreeze High School graduate is where she wants to be, on Granada Boulevard, near where she rode her bike to the beach as a girl.
She kept watching the area until she finally she saw a “for rent” sign on the building.
“I thought, ‘What a perfect place to have a cute little store,’” she said.
Everything just “fell into place” for her business, which got its start about five years ago when she helped her daughter, Hope, then an FSU student, make gifts for her sorority sisters. They wanted something different, so they designed shirts monogramed with the school logo.
“They went crazy for them,” she said.
Soon they were making shirts for other sororities.
She started monograming things for friends in Ormond Beach, and they said she should open her own store. The rest is history.
Currently, she said, the most popular items include monogrammed fleece pullovers and Comfort Colors T-shirts, personalized baby gifts like blankets and onesies and “fun” accessories.
Some of the jewelry items in the store are truly unique because they are made by locals.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to even find some vendors right here in our community.”
Her customers have mostly been teenagers, young women and moms, but all ages can find a gift, she said. She has “ready-to-go gifts,” complete with ribbon.
Sarzier has been working with brides to create gifts for their bridesmaids and for bachelorette parties, and selecting groomsmen gifts. The store also offers items for the bride-to-be such as a monogrammed bracelet.
The windows were decorated before the store opened and caught a lot of attention. First, bright pink balloons filled the windows, and later there was a back-to-school theme. Currently, one window has a bike, rather than a sleigh, carrying presents and the other has a fireplace.
"The windows have been one of my favorite parts about opening the store,” said Sarzier. “It’s a family affair with help from my husband, my sisters, my mom and my children.”
