Humanity Boutique answers customer demand with expansion, more fashions in new store

Courtney Hunt says that just three months after she, her mom, and her three sisters opened the cute little 200-square-foot Humanity Boutique in Grand Rapids, they knew they needed a bigger store because they kept hearing it from customers. That spark of an idea becomes reality this week as the women's fashion boutique more than doubles its size.

Humanity Boutique is part of the MoDiv retail incubator (Shops @ Monroe Center & Division, 40 Monroe Center Ave.) and, this week, moves into some of the space that opened up at MoDiv when 6.25 Paper Studio moved next door (read the story here).

The shop will double its inventory with more display space for its singular fashion vision that includes handbags, scarves, belts, jewelry, and women's wear. Dresses, skirts, tops, leggings, and blazers run in sizes small to large, and, Hunt says, at affordable prices. Once the inventory sells out, it's gone for good because the store orders all new designs and colors in its place.

"We just offer what we believe in," Hunt says. "We want people to be able to afford what they wear and to feel confident and comfortable. Our feedback from customers is always, 'Wow, your fashion is different and cutting-edge, and Grand Rapids needs it.' Our prices are affordable. There aren't too many stores that have a selection like we have."

Courtney, her mom, Deborah Hunt, and her sisters Jodi Nesbitt, Kelly Hunt, and Katie Williams opened the store in March. The sisters have all lived abroad -- think Sydney, Australia, Paris, and Milan -- and studied either fashion or fashion merchandising, then brought their experiences back to Grand Rapids.

Courtney says that in the new location, they'll deck out the huge display windows overlooking Monroe Center and the MoDiv lobby with their latest fashions, hoping to make the shop irresistible to window shoppers.

A Girls' Night Out shopping event is in the works and will be announced on the store's Facebook page and website soon.

Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
Photos courtesy of Humanity Boutique

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