View from the Top
Beau Joyau
Surround Yourself With Beauty! By Janette Calabro
Beau Joyau is no ordinary boutique. It is run by women, in support of women who want to improve their lives by surrounding themselves with beauty. Pamela Huerta went from nurse to business owner, and she hopes the items in her store will add substance to her customers’ lives. “My foundation is in nursing, so my perspective is to provide service to my clients,” Pamela explains. She hopes that you’ll find joy when you stumble upon the perfect item, but she also wants the time you spend perusing the store to be a joyful experience. Along with a sophisticated selection of apparel, jewelry, handbags, cosmetics, and so much more, Beau Joyau also carries the largest collection of Polish Pottery offered in Nebraska. Polish Pottery is handcrafted from the clay of southern Poland, a white clay that is safe for the oven, dishwasher, freezer, and microwave. The white clay contains no lead or cadmium, a heavy metal that may leach from certain glazes and coatings on typical pots and pans. The glaze finish is kiln-baked at just below 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which accounts for its durability, and the white clay base is chip-resistant and easy to clean. This style of artisan-made pottery dates back to as early as the 14th century. It was really the pottery that got Pamela into retail. “The Polish Pottery was the key for me because that’s where I started,” explains Pamela. “It is truly art, something I could import that is unique. Yet despite the pottery’s beauty, it is meant to be used daily. An individual may have a piece or two in common with another, but how each of them puts it together with their others pieces is what makes their collection unique.” Before Beau Joyau, Pamela spent years working as a critical care nurse. She decided to leave the field of nursing to spend more time with her family. She started selling Polish Pottery from her garage. Between that and attending craft shows, her client base grew by word of mouth. A little over five years ago, she opened a brick and mortar store to expand her inventory and her devoted customer base continued to grow. She hasn’t let the pandemic set her back, thanks in part to the ample size of her store. “When many places were shutting down, we were able to stay open. We have about 2,400 square feet, so there’s enough room to distance easily.” She generally doesn’t have more than four to six customers in the store at a time, and her experience as a nurse leads her to err on the side of cleanliness and safety. She also offers curbside pickup, front-porch delivery, and even virtual shopping with individual clients
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on FaceTime. Her new website, beaujoyau.shop is still a work in progress. Pamela’s selection of jewelry is exquisite and exclusive. She started buying pieces from a company out of Miami—a company that specializes in Pamela Huerta, owner replicating upscale jewelry as seen on celebrities and fashion runways. The copies are legal, of course, but limited editions. “These are incredibly wellpriced pieces with the look of authentic diamonds or authentic stones,” she shares. “That’s the whole point of a boutique—to offer something different! Not just with the pottery, but with everything.” Her apparel has the same appeal as all of the other artisan-made items for sale. No matter your size or style preference, Pamela encourages you to wear it well. She wants women to feel uplifted and emboldened. That’s her nursing training again—her instinct is to provide support to her clients, to help them create environments that make them happy. The personalized attention she used to provide to patients, she now provides to boutique clients, accessorizing their daily lives in function and beauty. It’s not unusual for a bride to tote along a picture of her bridal gown (or, sometimes, the gown itself) for an individual styling session for jewelry and accessories. Neither is it unusual for shoppers to seek a unique gift or gift registry. “We should all be surrounded by things that bring us joy,” Pamela concludes. “That’s something that we, as women, as caretakers of our families and ourselves, can somewhat control. The things that happen to us in life, we don’t always have control over, but you can attempt to design your environment to make you happy.” If you could use a little joy and happiness in your life these days, check out Beau Joyau. To see items in person, come see Pamela at 2947 S 108th Street, in Omaha. For a selection of photos and a 360-degree tour of the store, visit beaujoyaune.com. Pamela is currently offering curbside pickup, home delivery, and personal video shopping. Call 402-301-7103 for more details. WE