Climb from jewelry store to bridal shop

08 Aug '06

2 min read

In central Phoenix, a store named Bridals Ofelia is owned by Martinez who is always ready and available for the crowds shopping for lace-trimmed gowns, mantilla veils and gem-studded accessories as the wedding season looms.

Martinez had earned a fashion degree as a teenager in San Luis, Sonora, and taught design classes and sewed dresses for lofty people as a young woman.

A couple of years later, she opened a jewelry store in south Phoenix and hung homemade dresses in the windows.

The dresses were sold quickly and customary orders started progressing.

In the early 1990s, a Spanish TV station gave her a fashion show fragment.

Bridals Ofelia was over the years expanded to a full-service store, making floral arrangements and selling formal gowns.

She was awarded the 2003 businessman of the year by a national business association.

Martinez store is equipped with the shoes, gowns, veils, crowns, gloves, jewelry, purses, albums, pillows, the rosaries and the coins.

The only thing not being sold in the store is the groom but even that could be arranged by Martinez, if a need arises.

Bridals Ofelia normally charges less than larger stores and its prices are at least 30 percent lower than wedding superstores.

The store sells about 60 dresses a month, mostly manufactured in China as she only makes a few dozen a year because of high labor cost.

Martinez like all others is worried about competition as several dress shops and wedding-related stores have opened nearby.

Earlier there were just a few stores in metro Phoenix two decades ago but now there are several dozen formal dress and wedding-related stores sprung over vacant storefronts and new retail suites across the Valley.

The growth of these boutiques is due to cheaper prices, a deeper understanding of traditional Hispanic ceremonies and a community drawn to mom-and-pop businesses. clinching

More Fashion News - United States Of America...