KEARNEYSVILLE — On her family’s farm, Michele Pennington motioned over her own clothes — a jumper with stylish chunky heels and a cowboy hat — stressing the in a time not so long ago, she never had a knack for chic Western wear. But times have changed as Michele and her husband, Josh, are set to open the brick and mortar storefront for Opequon View Ranch Boutique, striving to meet the need for fashionable yet affordable Western and farm wear in the area.
The boutique is scheduled for its grand opening on Saturday, a storefront from a dream that quickly transformed for Michele.
“I make homemade tarts, like soy wax melts, and then I was like, ‘I want to get into earrings,’” Michele said. “So I made West Virginia-shaped earrings out of coal from the Foundry. It just went nuts. People were like, ‘You should open up a store. We’d love to come shop.’”
Looking over to one corner of what is now the boutique, Michele and Josh both admitted the plan started as a small area for her creations before exploding into the stylish shop it is today.
“We were talking. There’s no Western anywhere (here),” Michele continued. “You have to go to Lexington, (Ky.). You have to go at least two or three hours away to get any decent boots. There’s some, but they don’t keep up with the trends.
“We own horses. We horseback ride. We trail ride. We just got into sheep. We want good work wear we can trust, fashionable riding clothing and just cute clothes all around.”
Featuring clothes that can function as go-to options for the farm, great choices for showing or riding and stylish choices for off hours, Opequon View Ranch strives to be the place to fill the void.
“With 4-H, FFA, the big barrel racing crowd, the equestrian crowd that’s around here, nobody is really supplying their needs not online,” Josh said.
Josh and Michele’s father did all the work to transform the building from what it once was into the chic boutique it is today, the change from storage to store being a vast one.
“The beginning of March, I had hay and tractors and tools in here,” Josh laughed.
Much of the materials used to create the store are repurposed from farms around the area as well as from the Foundry as Josh and his father-in-law designed and created the storefront. A number of items inside were also repurposed from the couple’s wedding or family hand-me-downs.
“Even the sofa and those two chairs, they’ve been in my family for generations,” Michele said. “I always thought, ‘That thing is so ugly. What am I going to do with that thing?’ I just thought, ‘That’s the perfect piece for the store. Now, I love it.’”
Michele stressed that basically everything in the store, either she, Josh or their son wears, the family ensuring that quality products are available. To feel the overwhelming support from the community already, Michele is excited for the future of Opequon View Ranch Boutique.
“Just blows my mind,” she said. “People are coming out of the woodwork to just say, ‘Hey, I love what you’re doing. It looks great. Keep up the good work. So glad this is coming here.’ I would have never thought it was going to get this big. I thought I was just going to be selling tarts, making some earrings here and there. Then, people were like, ‘Do it. We are here for you.’ I love it. I can’t thank this community enough.
“I’m humbled. I just didn’t think it was going to get this big. I thought I was going to stay strictly online, sell online, do my tarts and earrings, and people were like, ‘We want more. We want to support everything you do.’ I can’t thank everyone enough.”
That support has launched Michele into a world she never expected to be a part of but one she’s enjoying every moment in.
“I went to school for nursing, and this is not nursing,” she laughed. “I worked for the government, not doing anything medical and doing this on the side. I love it. I love fashion. I love buying clothes. Who doesn’t want to buy clothes for people to buy.”
Saturday’s grand opening event will feature burgers and hot dogs for donation by the Hedgesville FFA, and The Blue Horseshoe tack shop will have its mobile unit on site for some shopping as well. Josh said the couple wanted to make a family event out of it, something they look forward to continuing in the future.
“We look forward to doing that in the future, trying to make some family-oriented things going on,” he said. “I like entertaining people, and we have this whole farm at our disposal at the moment.”
With excitement clear on her face, Michele added: “We’re excited. I can’t wait to see who shows up, what happens on Saturday and how far we go. Good food, good music, good shopping.”
Opequon View Ranch Boutique is located at 709 Opequon Lane and will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the grand opening on Saturday.
For more information or to shop online, visit the store’s Facebook page under the business name or visit www.opequonviewranchboutique.com.
