KUTZTOWN, Pa. – A popular boutique is making moves in the region.
Jennifer’s Unique Boutique, a business carrying handmade gifts, home decor, personal care products and other items from more than 50 local vendors, shuttered its location at the Lehigh Valley Mall’s outdoor lifestyle center in late December as owner Jennifer Smith plans to relocate the multi-merchant market to Kutztown.
Jennifer’s Unique Boutique will open Jan. 16 at 16 N. White Oak St. in Kutztown.
Jennifer’s Unique Boutique
Jennifer’s new Kutztown location is set to open next week at 16 N. White Oak St., next to the Strand Theatre, just off West Main Street.
“We have some exciting news!!” Smith announced on the business’ Facebook page.
“The opening date will be Friday January 16th!!!! We were going to try for this weekend but we do not want to rush it and want things as perfect as possible!!! Vendors an email with set up information will be sent later today!!! Stay tuned and we can’t wait to see everyone!!!”
Jennifer’s Unique Boutique will open Jan. 16 at 16 N. White Oak St. in Kutztown.
Jennifer’s Unique Boutique
Jennifer’s carries a unique mix of merchandise, including hand-crafted home decor, clothing, handbags, fashion accessories such as jewelry and hats, throw pillows, pictures frames, garden décor, tumblers and other drinkware, candles and wax melts, soaps and lotions and holiday decorations such as wreaths, stockings and ornaments.
Top-selling items include hand-made crafts and collectibles such as Funko Pop! figures.
The new location also will feature customization options, including a T-shirt bar where T-shirts are made in minutes after you choose your shirt and design.
The Kutztown location is closer to Smith’s home in Topton, but that’s not the main reason for the move.
Smith has been frustrated by the Lehigh Valley Mall management team’s requests to relocate her business to different spaces in the mall over the past several years.
Jennifer’s Unique Boutique will open Jan. 16 at 16 N. White Oak St. in Kutztown.
Jennnifer’s Unique Boutique
Since opening in 2021, the boutique was forced to move at least four times to different mall locations, Smith told 69 News.
Each move was costly and confused customers, Smith said.
Smith said she decided to move out of Whitehall in the fall after mall management contacted her to let her know that another prospective tenant was interested in the boutique’s current space.
“We’re a small business,” Smith lamented.
“Every time that we move, we have permit fees and inspections, and then we have to close a while. It’s a lot of work. We’re just a small business, and we have to move everything ourselves.”
With the business regularly shuffling locations, people also got confused about where the boutique is located, Smith added.
In fact, many customers who visited Jennifer’s former location at the mall’s outdoor lifestyle center mentioned that they were surprised that the boutique is “still around” because they remembered it being located on the mall’s lower level near Macy’s, Smith said.
As a result, sales suffered in recent years.
A location of Jennifer’s Unique Boutique closed in December at the Lehigh Valley Mall’s outdoor lifestyle center in Whitehall Township.
“We’ve lost so many customers,” Smith said.
Smith sees a better fit for her boutique in Kutztown, where she’s signed a year lease for the business.
“It’s also 10 minutes from my house, and because I’m from this area, I feel like we’ll get so much more community support,” Smith said of the Kutztown location.
A Lehigh Valley Mall representative did not respond to a message seeking comment on the departure of Jennifer’s Unique Boutique.
For the latest Jennifer’s Unique Boutique updates, follow the business’ Facebook page.