Pickett Fences marks 20 years serving customers in the Village
THE PICKETTS recall opening the store when Larchmont was a “sleepy little village.”
Joane Pickett has been selling contemporary clothing in her retro-themed store in Larchmont Village since May of 1994.
A cocktail reception will celebrate the shop’s 20 years of doing business in the community on Sun., May 4 from 4 to 7 p.m. at 214 N. Larchmont Blvd.
“Everyone’s invited,” said Joane, who opened the store with her husband Wiley back when Larchmont was “a sleepy little village.”
The newlyweds had just bought a bungalow in Larchmont Village, and had fallen in love with the neighborhood. At the time, Joane was working in the wholesale clothing industry downtown, and yearning to travel less and spend more time enjoying her new home. The couple decided to “give it a try,” and Pickett Fences was born.
Joane does the buying and accounting while Wiley, who built the inside of the store from old wood he got from tear-downs following the Northridge earthquake, also acts as the techie, fix-it and financial guy.
The boutique has been in three different locations on the boulevard. “We started at 111 North, and expanded to 115. After about 10 years, we opened at our current location and closed the other two,” said Joane. Later, they opened sister store Petticoats at 115 N. Larchmont, but when the recession hit, “we consolidated here and that’s the way we’ll stay,” she swears.
While the internet has changed the industry greatly over the years, the theme at Pickett Fences, which stocks clothing for men, women and children, lingerie, sleepwear, jewelry and gifts, has remained pretty much the same.
“We’ve always had a retro theme, but with contemporary, casual clothing,” said Joane. “And we’ve tried to make it so that customers have an interesting retail experience. The store is a bit of ‘retail as entertainment,’ meaning there’s lots to look at, creative displays and great customer service.”
Reflecting on two decades as local residents and business owners, Joane notes that neither she nor her husband, who now live in Brookside, are from around here. “We’re from Illinois,” she says. “So we feel really lucky to have found this little neighborhood. It was such a fluke, but now we live here, work here, our son, Wiley Jr., goes to school here. We are so happy to be a part of this community.”
Category: News
