Hollyhock House is at Home in Paducah

WHEN HOLLY

Howard Surveyed The Myriad Of Options For The

location of her business, Hollyhock House, she kept coming back to what she remembered as a child in Mayfield. “I grew up with small business shopping,” she says, “going with my mom to all local shops. That continued for me in college when I worked with Missy Brown at Simply B when she first opened her doors. I loved putting things together for customers and creating that unique shopping experience. And that’s what it was. Shopping was an experience.”

The road to Paducah led Holly from Mayfield through St. Louis. After graduating from Murray State University, Holly took an internship with the Albent Pujols Foundation. Then, she got a corporate job. “And I hated it,” she says. “It was not for me, and I hated being at a desk all the time. I took a step back and thought about what I really loved. The town where I lived in the St. Louis area did not have the unique boutique experience I was used to. So I saw a need I could fill. And it was received very well.”

Holly was in a newly developed area, however, and because of the lack of a boutique culture, she found herself competing for customers against chains like Target. “There was a different mindset,” she says. “Many were not