A homecoming for Carolyn Verdi Boutique
Carolyn Verdi, the owner, has resided in BV for over 30 years, with her family having roots here. 20 years ago, she started with a small space in BV on 8th St. At the time, her focus was wedding planning, and she needed a commercial space to meet clients.
The space on 8th St at the time, was boarded up. After discussions with the owner, Greg Pastore, she leased the space and took advantage of the city’s exterior storefront improvement program. She added a small retail jewelry and accessories line in the space. along with the consulting. After 10 years in the space, she departed in order to grow and focus on the retail end, such as off the rack wedding gowns, along with fashion jewelry and accessories.
For the past 7 years, the boutique was located on East Passyunk Ave. When Covid-19 hit, the boutique had remained closed from March until Sept. That fall, her landlord had decided to downsize their own business, opting to take over the space occupied by the boutique effective Nov. 30th. While trying to resume some sales during the Christmas season with her line of accessories & jewelry, Carolyn in parallel had to relocate the business as well.
Living around the corner and still passing her original space every day, she noticed it had become available and reached back out to her old landlord, who was happy to work with her. Although it meant downsizing, she thought she could apply her creative talent, and make it work.
The past few months have been a struggle, as she worked to re-establish a customer base, while contending with a slower business environment and shifting consumer needs. While some of you may already follow her boutique accessories business, wedding dresses, wearable art, vintage jewelry, and a focus on showcasing the work of local artists — she would love for neighbors to visit and share what other products and services she could provide during this time.
We are glad to have Carolyn Verdi Boutique back in the neighborhood!