Driving down Central Avenue, near the eastward side of its intersection with Monte Sano Avenue, one would hardly miss the sight of a brick building, more than 1,800 square feet, painted bright pink.
A crew of feminine, stylishly clad mannequins may be posed out front. The vintage ambience on the inside might not strike one as peculiar for an antique shop. Furniture and racks of women’s clothes, arrayed alongside almost every kind of collectible and piece of bric-a-brac imaginable, would be on display, inviting visitors to explore what looks like a curated patchwork of décor from several yesteryears.
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What might be unexpected, however, is who would greet you as the shop’s proprietor: William Harrison, a tradesman and entrepreneur who has developed a knack for catering to a customer base of mostly women.
“Most ladies, as soon as they come in, their immediate attention is drawn to something in the room,” Harrison said, before they hear his voice, asking if they need any help and, surprised, turn to see him behind the counter. “They’re expecting a woman to be in here.”
The Pink Boutique opened last September. Months earlier, in April, Harrison first leased and started more than $100,000 worth of renovations, he said. He’s already looking toward expansion, taking a lease on a neighboring building to launch an antique mall, and refurbishing space for a charcuterie bar.
The women’s apparel and antique emporium is not his first. He’s run similar enterprises in Summerville, including Gypsie Pearl Eclectic Interiors, which focused more on custom furniture.
Occasionally, a female attendant manages the store and tends to customers on Harrison’s behalf, especially considering he has other businesses, including Outdoor Kitchens of Augusta and Harrison Masonry and Remodeling.
Women are the primary clientele for those businesses as well.
“Women make 85% of all purchasing decisions in America, throughout the household, from day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year,” Harrison said, also crediting his mother for inspiration, as she encouraged him to follow his dreams and, in doing so, stirring an inclination toward empowering women. “That’s what I like this boutique to be all about.”
Collecting bottles at age 11 was the first inkling of a years-long interest in buying and selling antiques, he said. Almost every item in the store is for sale, from clothing to lounge chairs, work desks and vanities, old signage and vintage radios.
The store offers frequent sales, and even occasionally hosts sip and shop events where guests are invited to sip free wine while perusing the selection, some of which is acquired via consignment.
Harrison largely markets through social media, and says while the most popular items are women’s apparel, antiques and furniture shoppers tend to increase in the fall and winter months.
His faith plays a large part in his attitude toward attempting, pursuing and maintaining various enterprises—a process he’s called “an amazing journey”—and he’s said that he’s only a steward of the businesses, but that “God is the owner.”
The Pink Boutique is located at 2569 Central Ave.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
