INTERVIEW WITH AMBER LEASE OWNER OF
Wildflower Women Amber Lease is one busy woman. She’s a mother of two, personal stylist, and owner of Wildflower Women and Sandbox Kids. And she still manages to artfully curate a covetable collection of clothing, accessories and lifestyle goods for women, babies and girls for multiple stores - one in the Santa Ynez Valley wine tasting hot spot Los Olivos, another in Santa Maria and a new location in Pismo Beach. Here she offers insight into her growing brand. THE INSPIRATION As a busy on-the-go mom of two boys, I understand the need to develop a fashionable yet effortless look. I have always been a fashion enthusiast, so I took my mid-western values along with my California girl approach to life and started creating stylish wearable looks for everyday women. A LITTLE HISTORY I grew up in retail. My family owned a clothing store called Johnson's For Children. There I learned the ins and outs of the retail world. Because children’s clothing was second nature to me, I first opened Sandbox Kids in 2009 and a few years later developed the women’s concept, which became Wildflower Women. THE GOODS I do all the buying for the stores and am very selective regarding what I bring in. As a personal stylist, I know how to edit each collection to include a wide array of women. I typically go for the classics - earth tones, simple cuts, and timeless fits. THE GOAL My goal is to offer a taste of the experience of a bygone era - like the traditional department stores and women’s boutiques my mother and grandmother used to take me to. They were kind, sweet, and unique to their time and respective places. I hope to offer a sense of what it was like to shop at these stores in their heyday. FRESH BLOSSOMS Being a Wildflower means allowing yourself to grow places you never knew possible and that’s a reflection of what we are doing this year. In addition to opening the Pismo Beach location, we are launching an online store and adding girls clothing sizes 7-16. We now cover newborn girls all the way through young and seasoned women. Our in-house personal shopper and stylist Lauren Condit joined the Wildflower family last spring. She offers complimentary services and a keen eye to help customers find the best fits and looks for their individual style. Email Stylist@ wildflowerwomenboutique.com to book an appointment.
LOS OLIVOS • SANTA MARIA • PISMO BEACH WILDFLOWERWOMENBOUTIQUE.COM @WILDFLOWERWOMENBOUTIQUE
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DINING & DESTINATIONS
FALL/WINTER 2018