Farm to Fashion
Award: Aspire
Owner: Kate Stephens
Established: 2020
At 17, Kate Stephens is the youngest nominee and winner of the Fire Within award, and she’s already making big waves in the business community.
Stephens, whose family has been in Montana since 1912, comes from an agricultural background. She said she was driving a combine on her family’s wheat farm when she got to thinking about how not many people know where their fashion comes from.
So, Stephens started a contemporary handbag line that bridges the gap between farmers and consumers through fashion. She incorporates agricultural elements into her designs and hopes to remind people that cotton starts on a farm and leather starts on a ranch.
To that end, Stephens has an 80,000-subscriber YouTube channel called Kate’s Ag – Farm to Fashion that goes behind the scenes of what farmers do. The channel’s goal is to be fashionable and educational.
Stephens said she loves connecting with wonderful people, learning their stories and connecting with their communities. In fact, she makes a conscious effort to support North American manufacturers and give back to local communities.
She donated the first handbag she ever made to a Montana Farmer’s Union auction, and it sold for more than $1,600.
Stephens said her biggest challenge as a business owner is being under 18. She said she faces a lot of age discrimination and barriers to setting up the business.
“I’d say perseverance is the main part of what I’ve learned through my business, and that you can never give up,” she said, adding that she hopes other potential business owners do the same.
Stephens is working on growing the business and continuing her mission of bridging the gap between farmers and consumers. She will be attending Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Science in the fall, where she will major in communications and minor in agriculture and soil science.
Daydream Boutique
Award: Inspire
Owner: Angela Smith
Established: 2013
Contact: Holiday Village Mall, 406-868-7161
Daydream Boutique owner Angela Smith has “a passion for fashion.”
“I feel like if people feel better if they look better,” she said.
Smith, 51, has been a massage therapist for 22 years and was working in a salon when the owner opened a boutique, which gave her the idea to branch out on her own.
The boutique offers clothing, jewelry, handbags and gift items.
Smith values the opportunity for creativity that her job provides. She said she enjoys going to market to pick out new merchandise and loves her customers.
Daydream Boutique has been through some changes since Smith opened it. It’s changed locations a couple of times as she tried to adjust to operating during a pandemic. Smith tried to go to a completely online store, but her customers wanted to be able to try things on, so Smith moved to a smaller space.
From there, she decided to move into Holiday Village Mall just for the holiday season. She liked her space so much, though, that she ended up staying.
Owning a business has been a challenge, Smith said, and sometimes she wanted to give up. She kept pushing, though, and she said new business owners should keep trying and trying because it takes a lot of devotion. Smith said she’s decided to weather what comes and keep learning and growing.
So far, Smith has no plans to leave the mall. However, she would consider it depending on what opportunities open up and whether or not other mall stores remain open.
