Where "shabby chic" meets "french country" with a dash of bohemian charm thrown in for good…read moremeasure.
This is an incredibly cute shop with so much to see, housed in what once was a stately old home whose charm is still apparent as soon as you walk through the door. Interested in clothing and accessories? Check. Love the "shabby chic" look? Check. Hoping to pick up a piece of whimsical home decor? Check. Looking for vintage finds? Check.
This quaint, two-story home decor shop seems to hit a home run in many areas. The only real faults I found were with the prices on things like clothing and jewelry (especially the clothing).
I don't want to be critical, but the clothes in their "Ragg's Boutique" were pretty basic numbers from a bunch of no-name designers at inflated prices. I mean, $160 for a plain tunic? Come on. This isn't New York or Chicago, it's Holly. I know these types of shops have a high overhead and all, but the prices were a bit out of touch. How many people are willing to spend $160 on something that they can easily pick up for a fraction of the price somewhere else? Also, I thought most of the clothes were kind of "matronly" (sorry) or too nondescript for my taste. I found the bulk of it to be second-rate designs at first-rate prices. It just wasn't my cup of tea, but it might be someone else's. It just seemed mildly pretentious to me.
As for the rest of the store, there was a lot to see, including on the second story, which is very cramped and narrow, so not too many people can comfortable shop up there at one time- just saying. If you turn around too fast, you risk knocking something over. I know, I did just that! It was incredibly crowded up there, with vintage finds peeking out at me at every turn. It might be a bit too crowded, in fact. The walkway is tight and the old wooden flooring uneven, so take note.
Despite the tight squeeze, I found plenty of "shabby chic" style decor, which I just so happen to love, from vintage signage and antique doorknobs rescued from old homes to painted tiles and upcycled windows from 19th century buildings and more. Some of it was surprisingly well-priced, while other pieces were in the higher-end range. No doubt because they were from different shop vendors (Pigeon in the Parlour houses several individual vendors), which probably accounts for the wide ranges in pricing.
Some of the more traditional line of home decor accents were very reasonably priced, including candles, soaps, wall art, knick knacks, dishes, etc. I especially loved a line of metal dragonfly hooks and some cute resin bunny statues. We picked up some candles and soaps, but I left without that dragonfly hook and now I regret it.
Since chalk painting is all the rage right now, I found a fairly large line of reasonably-priced chalk paints and a new "salt wash" mix, including some small starter kits. My husband and I both do a lot of DIY projects, so we were interested and took a gander at what they had in stock. The lady waiting on us told us that we can order from them, even if we aren't in the store, since we don't live in Holly. That was nice, I thought. She talked up this new "salt wash" additive and showed us how it worked with paints and gave us a brochure to read up on it. I have to admit, it looked intriguing, so I think we might order that sometime soon.
As for the customer service, it veered between good and slightly odd. I noticed one of the employees following other people (not me) around the store in an annoying, clingy fashion. I couldn't tell if she was worried they were shoplifters or if she was just heavily invested in making a sale. Who knows? Nonetheless, the lady that waited on me seemed pleasant and knowledgeable, if not overtly friendly.
Like I said, this store has a lot of interesting pieces and the unique character of the building only enhances the shopping experience. I even signed up for email list for customers to receive updates on products and sales.
