Introducing 5 new "Cupcake Girls"

We proudly welcome Vicki, Barb, Debbie, and Donna to the Cupcake team! The four ladies arrived this week perfectly packaged in their own dream homes complete with individual carrying cases. Samantha put Vicki and Barb to work immediately, they are currently modeling the latest styles of 7 for All Mankind denim in our storefront windows. Debbie and Donna will eventually have their own space in the store as well, but we decided that training 4 girls at one time would be a bit challenging with our busy schedules.

Last, but certainly not least is the addition of our new shop dog. Her name is Minnie Pearl, aka "Minnie". She is the cutest teacup Chihuahua I have ever seen and she will soon be sporting cupcake apparel.

Since the last update we have finished painting the interior of the store, we have finalized our promotional item designs, our doors have been installed in the store, and this Tuesday starts construction!

Barb

Vicki

~Cupcake Couture

Progress...

Check out our first sign!

We have three of them placed in different entrances and they are starting to create a buzz around town. However... I did have to explain to a gentleman that stopped me as I was hanging the signs that we are not a bakery.

Now that we have our inventory ordered, we have been working on interior store design and layout. Sam and I are great with the inventory, it's basically just shopping for clothes. However, we have been finding the store layout and purchase of fixtures a much more daunting task. Our spirits were quickly lifted again when we saw the UPS truck pull up with our very first shipment on Monday! It was Christmas in August for us and we are expecting that the boxes will start arriving on a weekly basis from now on.

Cupcake Flavors

Cupcake Couture is very excited to announce a few of the lines that will be in stock for our opening. It will take time to build up inventory and bring in all of the lines that we would like, but it will happen. We already have a few more lined up for the holidays and spring that we are keeping a secret. For now, some of the brands you may have heard of that you can expect to see at Cupcake are:

These are just a few of our favorites, but there are many more!

~Cupcake Couture

LA Fashion Market

We are back from our first market and we still feel as if we are in a dream. Market was above and beyond our expectations, it was surreal. Going into the designer showrooms, looking at samples of clothing that are not even in production yet. Every designer show room treated us like royalty... offering us food, champagne, snacks, candy, free clothing, etc. The best shopping experience EVER!
We were able to sign on all of the lines we wanted... stay posted for what those are, it is very exciting! The fall fashions are HOT.

On a side note... Sam and I are both US Weekly and TMZ.com junkies, so of course we were on full star spotting mode in LA. First, we spotted Samantha Ronson (Lindsay Lohan's DJ girlfriend) Sam almost got her head stuck in the elevator door trying to make eye contact with her! Then we were able to meet and speak with Paige, the founder of Paige denim. She is even more beautiful in person. We also met Rachel Pally when we were in her showroom. Last, but definitely not least, was our favorite... Holly (the Olly Girls of Sunset Tan)! She was eating at the same place we were at LAX. She is SO CUTE!
We had a very busy couple of days, and are hard at work figuring out which lines we will be starting with. Check back for our brand updates.... coming soon!

~ Cupcake Couture

We have space!

And what a great space it is! If you are familiar with downtown McMinnville at all, you will understand why we are so excited to have this location. We are located inside of the old 1893 building on 3rd street. We are directly behind La Bella Casa which is a very popular home store with many loyal customers. We are also fortunate to have the fabulous Sage restaurant right above our space.
We have included pictures of the space today, but we do have plans for doing some minor remodeling and adding our own Cupcake Couture flair. Check back to watch the transformation!

~Cupcake Couture

From Dreams to Reality....

We had no idea that 10 years ago (1998), as we were both competing for the 2nd base position on the same softball team, that in 2008 we would become sisters, best friends, and now business partners in our own venture.

As many girls dream of owning their own clothing boutique, we (Samantha and Sara) are no different. Recently, as other career paths have gone sour, we chose to jump in with both feet and make our dream a reality. There's no turning back now and we look forward to opening Cupcake Couture in early October.

Cupcake Couture is a women's designer clothing boutique. It will feature many fashion forward designers that our small town, yet trendy, is needing. Our store will nicely compliment the other wonderful boutiques that have been downtown for many years. We are so excited about this opportunity and the community has been so wonderful in embracing our ideas.

Stay tuned for many updates and entertaining stories as we try and figure out what we are doing and beat the deadline to have our store open and ready for October! Thanks to all of our family and friends for their support in our decision. We couldn't do it without you!

~ Cupcake Couture