One of my very good friends, Katie Radillo, opened an adorable mobile boutique about a year ago and she has been having some really fun events with this cute little fashion RV! There have been some of these type boutiques in various cities popping up. Some are campers and some more food truck style, I saw one (food truck style) at a music festival in Toronto ans thought it was so cool, with a small changing room if you wanted to try on something on.
The Dreaming Tree has definitely cornered the market in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area, it has such a nice vibe too, feels like a little home away from hom. She bought an old hitch on camper, renovated it and now she sells adorable hand picked apparel, jewelry and even home decor items. Everything is hand picked and she carries very little overhead, as you might imagine. So the good things is you won’t find many people with what your bought from her boutique! Here is an interview with the owner, Katie:
Bella- When did you first become interested/how did you come up with the idea of starting a mobile boutique?
Katie- Gosh, I wanted to create my own space after working at the cutest boutique in the world-Heart & Sole in Smyrna, GA owned by my mentor and friend, Carole Keith. I loved working there and it was my happy place, never felt like work but fun, helping customers find clothes, jewelry and gifts. When I left Atlanta and moved to South Florida, I missed that feeling and longed to create my own space with that hometown feel. While traveling to Vegas in July of 2014, I came across the concept of the mobile boutique and my mind exploded! It was the perfect recipe to create a space of my own without the headache and overhead of a brick and mortar. A week after returning from Vegas, I bought a camper- a 1976 Scotty Serro Sportsman and The Dreaming Tree became a reality.
Bella- a. How did you find the camper?
Katie- Craigslist!
Bella- How did you go about refurbishing, DIY/have help?
Katie- At first, I thought my husband and I would be able to take on the renovation ourselves with help from my Dad. After assessing what needed to be done and how I wanted it to look, we realized we would need help. Blessed with a childhood friend who is a master carpenter, I turned over the designs to my friend Nicholas and he was able to create the interior of my dreams!! He’s amazingly talented. It took over a year to create our space and we finally opened in November of 2015!
Bella- How did you come up with the design of interior? How long did this take?
Katie- Once I purchased the camper I started pulling pictures and taking pictures of stores, displays, and shelving that appealed to me. The space is very small inside so we wanted to maximize what we had by being creative and utilizing every last inch for merchandise. I knew I wanted hardwood floors, cute tile ceilings, bead board and galvanized pipe for an industrial look, so once that was up the rest came pretty easily.
Bella- How often do you do pop ups and do you travel to other cities?
Katie- We try and pop up as much as possible, so every weekend if we can depending on the season and weather. We cover south Florida so mainly Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Occasionally we travel further north or to Key West if the event if right for us.
Bella- You stock very unique lines. Where do you find the items/ what types of things do you like to stock in your boutique?
Katie- We pull lines from all over as well as local, and always look for comfort, practicality and affordability when bringing in a new line.
Bella- You are an inspiration to many women who want to start their own business, any advice for young ladies who are looking for their niche?
Katie- Truly humbled by this question…If you have a dream- do it! It’s scary, fun, and satisfying all at once! There is nothing worse than having an idea or dream and not pursuing it. God, the Universe, whatever you believe in, lays certain ideas on your heart for a reason- it’s your purpose, your passion! And is what that truly makes life worth living and becomes your driving force. Do what makes you HAPPY!!!
Bella- What is the next event in the pipeline for The Dreaming Tree?
Katie- We are currently entering into our busy season with holiday events, corporate parties, home parties and farmer’s markets. We have so many fun events planned for the rest of the year so check our website, Facebook page and Instagram to see where we are popping up next!! @shopthedreamingtree
Bella- Do you have online sales as well? If so, can you tell us more about that?
Katie- I don’t yet…lol. Just via Facebook. Website sales coming soon!!
Bella- We look forward to seeing more of what’s to come from The Dreaming Tree!!
Thank you and so do we!! This journey is truly amazing and I feel blessed to do what I love every day with this mobile boutique and teaching yoga. Namaste beautiful Dreamers!!
Katie would like to offer readers of this artice to enjoy FREE SHIPPING NOW THROUGH 10/31/2016, just go to her Facebook page and when you find an item you like, type in SOLD…she will contact you immediately after to finalize(mention this article)!
If you’re in the Ft. Lauderdale area, check out The Dreaming Tree Mobile boutique’s website for their schedule. You never know where you might catch them, at a yoga studio, restaurant, festival or on the beach! They also do house shopping parties there and in other cities!
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