Myriah Hutchings, owner of Cincinnati-based online boutique amPM Exchange, believes in going above and beyond to provide the highest quality service to her customers. This includes sacrificing the dining and living rooms in her Hyde Park home to create a makeshift boutique for local customers. From fully-dressed mannequins to clothing racks, customers can have an immersive and tangible shopping experience in her home. This October, however, Hutchings will be able to reclaim her living space as amPM moves into its first brick and mortar location at 1421 Vine Street, where The Native One previously operated before moving across the street into the former Kaze restaurant space.
Photograph courtesy of Myriah Hutchings
Hutchings launched amPM online in 2016 to “bridge the gaps” within the Cincinnati fashion boutique industry. This includes providing reasonable price points, curating a unique inventory, and creating a personalized shopping experience. “A lot of [retailers] are dead set on one target audience and they don’t really broaden their inventory too much,” Hutchings says. “I’m touching the basis of almost everyone in Cincinnati, and I’m not making people feel like they’re limited to one specific style.”
Since its launch, amPM has primarily appeared at pop-up shops around Cincinnati like The City Flea and MORTAR’s Brick Pop Up space. This intentional marketing decision allowed Hutchings to grow amPM’s brand online prior to diving headfirst into the moving parts that owning a storefront entails. With the recent vacancy of The Native One’s former Vine Street space, plus the demand from the community, Hutchings feels now is the perfect time to take her brand to the next level, and Over-the-Rhine is the ideal location, she says.
“As far as what we have to offer as a brand and as a store, I [want] to touch so many people and to be centerfold right in the middle of OTR,” she says. “The groups of people are limitless. There are the travelers, the college kids, the business people that like to come downtown just to eat or drink or shop … Why not be in an area where it’s attracting everybody?”
Similar to its website and Instagram feed, amPM’s shop will be “a little piece of LA in OTR.” As a brand that prides itself on versatility, Hutchings is choosing to stray from the classic neutral tones accented with wooden displays and wicker baskets of plants, a design which has become popular among trendy boutiques and pop-up shops. Instead, amPM will flaunt neon lights and bright colors. This bold aesthetic will complement the store’s wide range of clothing items, from loungewear to active wear to date night ensembles.
Customers will be able to shop these items comfortably knowing that Hutchings and her team are taking the highest levels of precaution to ensure the health of all employees and guests. Masks and social distancing will be required and enforced inside the store and alcohol wipes and hand sanitizer will be available upon entry.
Stay connected with amPM on Facebook and Instagram for official opening dates and more information.
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