Who Says Retail’s Dead? These Brick-and-Mortar Shops Are Alive, Well and Ready for Holiday Shoppers

Who Says Retail’s Dead? These Brick-and-Mortar Shops Are Alive, Well and Ready for Holiday Shoppers

This Wild West dress, $148, is one of several stylish finds at new Heights-area Oak & Sparrow.

HOUSTONIAN COURTNEY PELL Wilkerson has opened Pell 1990 (24811 Gosling Rd.) in The Woodlands. It’s a “wink to the ‘90s,” she says. Find posters and photos of ‘90s-era fashion icons and pop-culture moments; a custom neon sign featuring everyone’s favorite Clueless quote, “As if!"


And after nearly 12 years of operating as an e-commerce site, Golden Thread (9135 Katy Fwy.) opened its first retail storefront in Spring Branch, featuring the jewelry designs of former neonatal-ICU-nurse and native Houstonian Jennifer Welker.

Women’s boutique Pell 1990 has opened in The Woodlands.

In the Heights, ethical fashion boutique Oak + Sparrow (1051 Heights Blvd.) by Houstonian Elizabeth Berg touts fair-trade and eco-friendly clothing and accessories. And florist Phuong Nguyen opened her Casa Mi Bella Rosa (1815 Taylor St.) by-appointment storefront with floral arrangements and accessories and gifts for home. It is open to all on Nov. 27 — perfect timing for holiday shopping!

And go-to online giftshop Birdie’s has announced it will open a brick-and-mortar location in River Oaks, where customers can shop for unique, one-of-a-kind and buildable gift baskets for all occasions.


Birdie’s has gifts for adults and kids alike.

Style
Meet Brian Boyter, New High-End Residential Broker with an Unique Background

BRIAN BOYTER IS a Houston native with an interesting background in real estate. After an impressive 16-year tenure managing commercial transactions in a Fortune 500 Real Estate Investment Trust, he recently made the shift to high-end residential brokerage. The experience left him uniquely suited to thrive in the sometimes-emotional world of buying or selling a home.

Keep Reading Show less

Kat Pressly and Reagan Bregman

FORMER ASTROS PITCHER and current coach Joe Smith, along with his sportscaster wife Allie LaForce, hosted a gala at Minute Maid Park's Union Station in an effort to raise funds and awareness of Huntington’s Disease, which took the life of Smith’s mother in 2020.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places

MORTGAGE RATES ARE high. So is the cost of living. Life milestones are coming later. The reasons that millennials are, according to society, "behind" previous generations when it comes to home ownership are finally crystal clear (and they have nothing to do with avocado toast, thankyouverymuch). But what do the statistics say about home-buying in Houston?

Keep Reading Show less
Home + Real Estate