Less than 30 minutes west of downtown Austin, in the Hill Country Galleria, lies one of the best-curated and most well-designed boutiques you’ll ever experience. New Origin Shop is a Black-owned, woman-owned boutique by Sierra Lewis that originally featured her handmade, well-crafted items and now sources goods from other Black-owned, woman-owned, sustainably focused brands.
Lewis has always had an interest in fashion and even studied fashion in college. She always knew she wanted a boutique but wasn’t sure how to go about it. So, Sierra put fashion design to the side and started her career as a special education teacher. Then in 2015, she started crocheting as a hobby. In 2017, Sierra opened her Etsy shop, selling the crocheted goods she had mastered creating by this time. Sierra became so successful with her Etsy shop that she was able to leave her teaching career in 2019 to focus on the shop full-time.
She then started selling at pop-up markets and events for the next few years. Between 2020 and 2021, her passion for a boutique resurfaced. Lewis was making jewelry and home decor but wanted her shop to have things people could continually use throughout the day in their lives.
So, Lewis opened her boutique, New Origin Shop, still during the pandemic. Due to the timing, she was stuck navigating a world that was still partially shut down. One of her biggest issues was gaining access to capital. So, Sierra used her savings and ran a successful GoFundMe for $5000. She then used her existing inventory and started her dream. In the beginning, due to the pandemic, there was a lack of support and manpower. So, she, her husband, and her brother had to do much of the work themselves, including decorating and designing the store, while documenting their progress on Instagram.
[modula id=”57507″]After making it over the hump, Lewis decided to source products and goods from other small businesses that may not have been able at the time to have their brick-and-mortar store. In doing this, though, she wanted to make sure the merchandise was within a certain price range and also fit in with the existing aesthetics and beliefs of the shop.
Go with your gut and stay true to what you want to do
Currently, Lewis carries over 100 brands in her shop and is always open to collaborating with more.
For other businesses looking to take the next step in their career, Sierra says, “Go with your gut and stay true to what you want to do. Don’t try to do what’s popular. Trust your creativity and be resourceful. I used what I had to reach the next level is what I did. Reach out to your community also.”
As far as the next steps, the New Origin Shop owner plans to keep doing what she’s been doing to still be here. “I want to maintain being a hub for small businesses. Expanding my team so I can expand my reach and hopefully open more locations to continue to support artists I know and love,” she stated.
Lewis also wants to provide a consistent calendar of events, workshops, and activities at the boutique to create community.
New Origin Shop recently celebrated two years in their brick-and-mortar location. Lewis is very proud of the space and brand and wants to thank everyone who has supported the journey so far. Be on the lookout for everything coming up for the holidays. There will be many gift-giving ideas and gift-making events.
New Origin Shop can be found online as well as on Instagram. If you are interested in submitting your brand for collaboration or want to have a workshop or event at the boutique, follow this link. Also, be sure to visit the physical boutique to experience its beauty and peaceful energy in person at 12921 Hill Country Blvd Suite D2-110 in Bee Cave, Wed-Sat, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sunday, Noon – 6:00 pm.
