Mother, daughter open clothing boutique in their Adrian garage

Apr. 17—ADRIAN — A mother-daughter duo from Adrian has teamed up to provide women of all ages a new opportunity when it comes to shopping.

Tami and Shawna Rogers opened a boutique in their remodeled two-stall garage on Adrian's Indiana Avenue on Feb. 1, carrying women's fashions in sizes small through extra-large as well as plus-size fashions in 1X to 3X. In two and a half months of operation, their venture is proving successful.

Tami Rogers, who has sold Paparazzi Jewelry from her home for four years, said she and her daughter had been talking about opening a boutique for more than a year. Shawna thought it would be good to offer clothing to the already-established jewelry business.

Then, a vehicle crash claimed Tami's son and Shawna's older brother, Landon, and the idea faded away for a while.

"We just didn't talk about it that much," Tami said. "Then one day we decided, 'Let's do it.' I've always been into clothing and accessorizing."

Also playing into the decision was Shawna's acceptance into the University of Minnesota this fall, where she will study biology for a planned career as a chiropractor. Tami said the extra money from the home-based business will help fund her daughter's education.

Tami, whose family owned Leuthold's, a clothing store in the Northland Mall in Worthington years ago, took to the internet to connect with wholesale clothing suppliers and complete paperwork with the state of Minnesota to establish the boutique. Within a week, everything was in place to open.

While Tami had many repeat clients through her jewelry business, she said adding clothing made her a bit nervous. She wasn't sure how all these women who had become friends would react to the expansion.

"It ended up being a godsend," she shared. "It's all been coming together really good."

Back when they offered just the jewelry, it was displayed in a small alleyway in the garage. With help from Tami's partner, Darrel Nielsen, the space was renovated to accommodate the clothing.

"We moved a lot of things and put up the pegboards," Tami said. "We put in some carpet, and Darrel hung the galvanized tin on the walls that we like. Darrel also made the dressing room. It really didn't take us too long."

The rustic décor was chosen in memory of Landon, whose photo appears in a necklace dangling from a pair of deer antlers hanging on one wall.

Tami said they are already planning to expand the space another four or five feet, as soon as she cleans out more things from that area of the garage.

"I hope that will do it," she said. "It's going to have to."

New products arrive every week, and the Rogers promote the clothing through a private Facebook group, Tami & Shawna Rogers Boutique. Thanks to her jewelry business, they've already shipped orders across the United States, and many customers have stopped by their shop to either browse or pick up items they purchased through the Facebook group.

Both Tami and Shawna select the fashions to order, finding things that will appeal to young women aged 18 on up and look good on plus-sized women as well.

"I'm carrying a lot of plus sizes and I would have to say, those ladies are very happy," Tami said. "It's hard to find cute, cute clothes.

"With good quality," noted Shawna.

"Now I'm trying to coordinate (jewelry) with the clothing," she added. "It's a strategy, and it takes some time."

While the boutique doesn't have set hours — Tami wants to get to all of Shawna's activities as an Adrian High School senior — they hope to have a more established schedule by fall.

"Right now it's mainly online orders," Shawna said.

"We pretty much sell it before it gets here," added Tami. "We love catering to the wants of our customers. In our group page on Facebook, we do polls and pre-ordering pictures."

Both Tami and Shawna model the clothing and share photos on the Facebook group page, which has really helped in selling the fashions.

Eventually, Tami would like to establish a website for ordering, but for now, everything takes place through the Facebook page and Facebook Messenger.

"We will be adding jeans, shoes and more," she said. "Recently, we just added dresses."

To shop the boutique, visit Tami & Shawna Rogers Boutique Group on Facebook. They also use Loyal Shops for alerts via text at "StartTamis5JewelryBoutique."

"I feel so blessed, even though I have to live this life without one of my children, in doing what I love," Tami shared, noting she's thankful to have the support of her family — Shawna, Darrel, son Logan and his wife Taylor, son Chad and his family, and her mother, Ona Galles.

The boutique is located at 104 Indiana Ave., Adrian. People can text Tami for more information at (507) 360-6238.