Heart Strings Boutique

Lauren Crews, owner of Heart Strings Boutique. 
Photo courtesy of Kimberlin Massie

Heart Strings Boutique is a ladies specialty store located in the town of Princeton, West Virginia. The store opened on May 2, 2015, at the hand of 25-year-old, Lauren Crews. Born and raised in Princeton, Lauren always dreamed of someday opening a store for ladies in her hometown. Crews is pouring her whole heart into her business. In fact, if it weren’t for her new heart, Heart Strings Boutique might not have come to Princeton, WV. 

    Lauren Crews was a school teacher in Mercer County who left the school system in 2014. An unfortunate medical condition mandated that the young woman with a warming smile, undergo a heart transplant. This led doctors to strongly encourage her to not return to teaching.  “There was just a lot of chance for infection and germs inside the classroom, so I had to resign my position at that point,” Crews stated. 

Her current career began as she crafted at home, creating wreaths and other unique gifts under the name Adorable Creations Studio. After the Christmas in 2014 left her creating more than 700 orders, Crews decided to branch out into a business that she had always imagined opening.

    “I wanted to serve ladies of all ages, of all sizes, of all economic backgrounds,” she said. “And I didn’t see that happening with any other business.” But Crews didn’t want to let her education go to waste because of her medical condition. “I have a master’s degree, and I couldn’t stand to think of that just kind of sitting there, not going to use,” she said.

    Ms. Crews has a drive to serve her community and a strong desire to succeed in her newly created business. Crews is a strong woman who has overcome many obstacles to get to the success that she has now. “There’s a little something about heart in every area of the store,” she said. “We really want the store to sort of be an extension of my miracle. The Lord has opened this door for me.” 

To get started in the boutique business, Crews reached out to her potential customers, largely via Facebook, to seek their opinions and ask what they would like to see available in such a store.

    “Basically, I’ve learned that there’s still a lot to learn and that you have to contact your customer to find out what is needed or wanted ... I want to make everybody feel at home. I know what it’s like to be uncomfortable in your own skin, and I don’t want to make anyone feel like that, ever,” she said. “That’s why we don’t care if you come in here wearing your jeans and a T-shirt or wearing an evening gown. It doesn’t matter to us. We just want everybody to feel comfortable stopping in here.” 

Her store has grown majorly since the beginning and carries over 40 brands including Premiere Designs Jewelry and Southern Couture. They sell sizes for every beautiful woman including XS to 5x. The boutique also sells shoe sizes ranging from a 5 to a 13. 

In addition to the store’s clothing, shoes and gifts, Heart Strings Boutique also offers embroidery and personalization services. “We really want this to be about our customers,” Crews said.

    Heart Strings Boutique is open Tuesdays through Thursdays 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., and on Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The store will be closed on Sunday and Monday.

To reach Heart Strings, call 304-425-7900. To learn more about the products offered there, visit http://www.shopheartstringsboutique.com/

Heart Strings & Pretty Things is located beside Sweet Frog in Princeton.