Danyel Mershon, owner and clothes buyer at Wildflower Boutique downtown, will celebrate the official opening of her second store, Lady Loom, which she says is “geared to a more elevated style.” (Photo by Carol Simmons)
Lady Loom’s classic styles
- Published: June 8, 2017
There’s no denying that villager Danyel Mershon loves what she does. The owner and clothes buyer at Wildflower Boutique downtown, she recently opened another shop on Xenia Avenue, Lady Loom, where she also selects the apparel and accessories on sale there.
Pink cursive lettering spells out the new store’s name across the wide front windows of the space previously home to Twisted Tines. Since setting up occupancy in early May, Mershon has been leaving some indoor lights on at night so passersby can get a glimpse of the new enterprise. The boutique’s official grand opening — a cocktail party -— is Thursday, June 1, 5-7:30 p.m.
Since Lady Loom’s debut, Mershon has been dividing her time between the two stores, which are located about a block apart, on opposite sides of the street. She currently has four employees helping cover both locations. The shops carry different clothing lines and have different goals, Mershon said last week at Lady Loom, where after spending the morning across the street, she grabbed an item off the rack, went to a changing room and quickly reappeared wearing a Lady Loom selection for the afternoon shift there. A change of jewelry also accompanied the transformation.
Mershon said she loves styling — putting fashionable clothing pieces and accessories together that create a complementary ensemble — in fabric, color and line — in which the wearer feels and looks good.
Opening Wildflower Boutique in June 2015 at the age of 25 was the realization of a long-term goal she began pursuing after graduating from Springfield’s Shawnee High School, leaving Ohio to study business at Arizona State University. She recalls visiting Sausalito, Calif., on vacation during that time and walking along the water with her father. She said she fell in love with the unique eclectic shops she saw there. “I just had the dream of having my own shop and living in an apartment above it.”
After returning to the area, she opened that first store in tandem with hair stylist Emily Anglemyer, owner and operator of Wildflower Salon, who moved into a new, larger space late last year. Friends from high school, the two young women initially joined forces as a mutually supportive way to launch their individual businesses. It didn’t take long to take off. When Anglemyer moved into her new location in November, Mershon was ready as well to expand her clothing boutique into the vacated space.
In the meantime, she found she had realized her dream, not only operating a business, but also living in an apartment above it. “I thought, ‘Oh my god. Two years ago I was dreaming of this and now it’s happening.’ ” With the subsequent realization, however, that she “had a hard time separating work and life,” she bought a house in town last August.
Opening Lady Loom was a completely solo venture. And deciding on a name was a particularly satisfying aspect, she said. She said she chose the “L” alliteration in honor of her middle name, Lynn. “Loom” is meaningful to her in that it represents where fabric originates. Mershon said she loves fabric, and at Lady Loom, the clothing is “soft, all the material feels really good.”
The “Lady” of the name not only notes the anticipated customer, but also suggests the shop’s focus on clothing that is more classic and mature.
Wildflower is tailored toward “the free spirit, fashion forward, faster paced girl,” she said. Anyone can shop there and may well find something to their taste and lifestyle, but Lady Loom caters to an older shopper.
“It’s geared to a more elevated style,” Mershon said, defining “more elevated” as “a little dressier -— classic styles, classic lines, styles that you’re going to wear for a longer period of time.”
The focus on different customer styles also is reflected in background music.
“Wildflower is faster paced,” she said. reggae and hip-hop tracks accentuate the shopping experience. At Lady Loom, you’ll hear the Beatles or Bob Dylan. “You can tell the energies in the store are completely different,” Mershon said. Lady Loom “is easier, calmer.”
Buying merchandise for both shops is a unique pleasure. “I really enjoy going to trade shows and hand selecting each item we carry, she said. “I go to multiple different buying shows. I really follow my heart. If I instantly see something I want to put on or can envision myself wearing, those are the pieces that sell better.”
Wildflower Boutique features its own label, a collection of work by different designers Mershon has chosen. “I enjoy the selection part so much,” she said. “I always ask if the designer or owner is in today so I am able to get a feel for their style better, making my decision if their pieces are right for our shops. I have been lucky enough to get to meet many of them, helping them tailor some of their samples they are previewing at the show.” Lady Loom currently carries name brand clothes, but likely will eventually carry its own label as well.
Mershon also considers dipping into design herself. “It is a dream to design for myself some time,” she said. “The connections I have made with current designers and helping them with their pieces has opened that door for the future.”
Until then, she’s not done planning new business ventures. She has a couple of ideas brewing, she said with a smile, though she’s not ready to talk about them yet.
“Life is a beautiful ride right now that keeps changing every day,” she said. “I am so humbled by the opportunities that have presented themselves — I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me.”
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