FORT GRATIOT – After a brief stay in downtown Port Huron, a retail store has moved to Birchwood Mall.
Michele Seib, who also owns Shear Karma Hair Gallery at 3528 Pine Grove Avenue, opened Divine Designs — a clothing and merchandise store — in March on Huron Avenue, where former men’s clothing store Patrick and James had closed months earlier.
Jamie Robbel, manager of Divine Designs, said the store had received some positive feedback downtown and had great success during Boat Week, but by the end of July they believed they would do better if they joined the roster of stores at Fort Gratiot Mall.
“Downtown, everything closes so early — some restaurants close as early as 3 p.m.,” she said of the move. “Other boutiques close early, and unless it’s 75 degrees and nice, there’s not much going on down there. … Downtown was beautiful. I loved it down there. But it seemed like we weren’t going to do (well) down there when winter and fall came.”
They opened their new doors at the mall on Monday, hung their banner on Tuesday and by Wednesday, Robbel said, they hoped traffic would increase as word of the move spread.
As in the downtown area, Divine Designs offered a wide selection of women’s and men’s clothing, jewelry and other goods.
“We’ve moved all of our inventory from downtown here,” Robbel said, “so we’re hoping to get more for the start of school and later when the weather gets colder.”
Before opening the store, Seib said her goal was to offer affordable casual clothing in a variety of sizes while supporting customers’ personal shopping experience through brick-and-mortar stores after seeing that a boutique area outside her salon was generating interest from customers.
When asked what target audience she thought she would appeal to, Robbel replied: “I like the clothes and I’m 29. Then we had a girl here, she loves the clothes and she’s younger. And then Michelle is older, so she obviously likes the clothes – she buys everything. So, I think everyone.”
Robbel said the stores would be open during the mall’s usual hours of operation, which are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
“We’re just happy to be part of the mall,” she said, “and I hope our business thrives here.”
For more information, visit the Divine Designs Downtown Facebook page.
Contact reporter Jackie Smith at [email protected].
