Angelique Palumbo Weiser and Heather Catalanotto Shop Angelique
Charlotte Hailey Dorion Gardner Realtors
Angelique Palumbo Weiser opened the original Angelique Boutique on Maple Street in 2001. She says, “I always had a love for fashion, and I helped friends dress all the time. With a family of entrepreneurs, opening my own store was a natural fit.” With great feedback from her first location, Angelique recruited Heather Catalanotto to manage the store. Heather says, “Shortly after I began managing the Maple Street shop, we became business partners, which led to new locations.” The Magazine Street store was added, offering shoes, and later, a collection of quality ready-to-wear pieces. Just a short walk down Magazine is Angelique Kids, another endeavor of Angelique. The boutique locations carry versatile, high-end clothing and accessories in an eclectic, but classic, style. The original boutique features exclusive brands such as 10 Crosby By Derek Lam, Vince and Veronica Beard. Shop Angelique’s relaxed and welcoming atmosphere has now extended into a third location, on Harrison Avenue. “We wanted to offer our clientele everyday wear that is less highend,” says Heather. The Harrison store offers budget-friendly options, including BCBG, Splendid, Cupcakes and Cashmere, Charles David and many other exclusive lines. “Our variety gives us the unique ability to dress not only a mother, but her young adult daughter and even the grandmother,” says Angelique. “No matter what age, we love putting our customers in clothes that make them feel good about themselves. That’s why we love what we do.”
“My career in real estate began over 20 years ago the same year I married Chris Dorion, who joined me three years ago as my real estate partner” says Charlotte Dorion. Having been born and raised in New Orleans by parents who owned several investment properties, however, Charlotte was no stranger to real estate. “My greatest influence was my mother, who was a successful realtor specializing in the Uptown market. I would shadow her through house showings and watch her negotiate sales. I learned the importance of being a good listener and always having a client’s best interest in mind,” says Charlotte. Charlotte sells in all areas of metro New Orleans, but specializes in Uptown and the Garden District. “Of course, while ‘location’ is always number one, my experience is that if a home has three other qualities—right price, good condition and staged—it will sell quickly. “I have a five-step process in listing a property for a client. It includes: gain as much knowledge as possible about the home, history, neighborhood and other important aspects; provide my thoughts on how to improve the property for the highest return for my seller; run a comparative market analysis to set the most competitive price; advertise heavily in print media and on more than 30 websites nationally and internationally; broker open houses and public open houses; SOLD!” With the help of her assistant, Mary Carstens, Charlotte also advertises listings on social media. “I love making my sellers happy by getting them their price and my buyers happy by finding their dream home.”
Shop Angelique has three locations: 7725 Maple St., 866-1092; 5421 Magazine St., 891-8992; and 902 Harrison Ave., 304-9050. angeliquestores.com.
Charlotte’s office is located at 7934 Maple St., 237-8615. Charlottedorion3@gmail.com.
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Inside New Orleans