Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Lamontagne.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am pretty sure my business got its start when I was six years old and my first sewing machine was under the Christmas tree- it was all I wished for way back in 1966. Fast forward to my teens and I was that girl who sewed all her own clothes and then went off to study fashion design in Boston. Through my twenties, I worked as a dress pattern-maker in Boston before landing in Manchester NH at a knitted sportswear company.
In 1987, I called my fiancé and in a tearful voice told him I didn’t think I could do it anymore. Working for a contract manufacturer, I was in charge of putting designs from NY fashion designers into production. The job was more technical than creative and designing clothing was the brass ring on my merry-go-round. My now husband Mo answered my tears with no hesitation, “quit and do your own thing.”
While searching for a studio, imagining it would be an old loft or an equally movie-worthy funky space, surprisingly I found myself opening my first store in an aging strip mall. I created all the clothing in the back room of that tiny store and the journey to where Kamala is today began.
The next few years held marriage, the birth of our daughter and the decision to move to my hometown of Holliston MA. We chose to share my childhood home with my parents. Family support is the true reason that I have been able to follow my heart with my business. The name Kamala was born after brainstorming in the kitchen with mom. We were playing with combinations of names and initials, and she said, “how about Kamala, the first two letters of each of your three names?” It rolled off the tongue and we both loved it, and soon finding out that Kamala means, “lotus flower.” Renewal every day- it felt perfect.
I worked out of a rustic art studio in an historic shoe mill in Holliston, and settled in to wild creating with textiles and beading jewelry, selling them at craft shows and open studios. Clothing design shifted to one of a kind handbags, each tote a riot of color and texture. One day in 2002 while out on errands, a woman saw my bright yellow car and shouted, “Are you the bracelet lady? I have been trying to find you!” The Universe was telling me it was time to come down from the fourth floor. I bought a quirky little building on a side street and opened Kamala Designs, still the parent name for my business.
Kamala has evolved with distinct yet synergistic aspects: the Boutique, the Art&Soul classroom for creative workshops and women’s SoulCollage® circles and SoulCircle retreats. This 2018 spring has been busy with a complex choreography to gather it all into one building, an antique house in the center of Holliston that once housed a bank (yes, the vault is still there!) Through the years the growth happened at different paces and Kamala ended up split into three locations within a few blocks of each other.
Kamala Boutique & Gifts is in its 16th year with a new online store (a whole new animal and learning curve!) It is known for its ability to cause spontaneous relaxation when entering, followed by the feeling of falling into Alice’s Rabbit Hole; its nooks and crannies invite childlike wonderment. My customers tell me that their moods are lifted and they thank me for creating my store. I take this as a sign of success!
Kamala Art&Soul is home to the creative sharing aspect, with a bright classroom for art journal and drawing workshops, just across the hall from the store. There are also art supplies, crystals and stones for purchase.
I often say that Kamala SoulCircles is the best work I do. I gather women in circle, a practice that grew organically many years ago with a pivotal book, called The Artist’s Way. A small group of women sat together for support and the seed was planted. Ten years later, I called my first circle of women together to work the book, and it felt that I was supposed to be doing this work. Since that first time, six Artist’s Way journeys have happened at Kamala. In 2012, I discovered SoulCollage® and followed that path with facilitator training. It is a creative, gentle exploration of our soul aspects, and through simple collage, a deck of cards forms to reflect these aspects of one’s personal story. Sitting in circle is the key part for my SoulCollage practice, the women build a tribe of unconditional love for each other. Most recently, Kamala SoulRetreats have been added to the menu, a beautiful creative and regenerative weekend by the ocean.
Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think any self-employed person will ever say the road is smooth. Sheer tenacity keeps us going. Because I dove in without any business education, the growth was often challenging. I had a lot of years of pitiful tears at tax time when crunched numbers revealed the reality of how little money I actually made (or didn’t) for all my hard work. I would fall into my pity party dialog. My husband, year after year, would ask me, “but are you happy?”
And that would keep me going. I have been crazily blessed with support to be able to slog through the mud.
The recession in 2008 nearly broke me, four years of consecutive losses followed and recovery felt impossible. In 2012, I made the announcement that I would give it one more year and the decision to close or continue would happen then. I gave up using fighting words like, struggling and surviving and treading water. Suddenly I got it- I was actually inviting more of it in by voicing them. So I just let things be, and whatever the outcome was, it was okay. I had a home and food and love.
When it became clear that Kamala on the side street was not going to stay open, downsizing began. And then the universe intervened. Within a few days the closing announcement, an invitation to move my store to the center of town arrived! Of course I wanted to say yes.
Mo was not as joyful, he dropped his head and sighed… “Are you REALLY sure you want to do this again?”
My answer was, that I needed to give my sweet store the chance to be what it was supposed to be, my vision was so bright for it when I pictured it in a place with traffic- because location location location.
So five years ago, began the second life of Kamala, into an historic town building that once held a savings bank. I have childhood memories of trying to reach the up to put my savings passbook on the counter of that bank! And yes, the old vault is still there!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kamala Boutique – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Kamala is driven by decisions that always start from my heart. That energy infuses into all aspects of my business. The most often heard comment is, “This is the most beautiful store I have ever been in.” And then I know I am doing the right thing. Any single aspect of Kamala could be a full business on its own, but I cannot picture it without its facets.
I am here by intuition and grit, following where I am called, and tuning into my customers’ needs. Decisions are based on the highest good that comes from all of that.
The most important work I do now is gathering women together. Synergy will truly begin very soon. The Boutique is icing on a really sweet cake, and I will openly admit that I adore shopping for the goods and telling stories of those adventures!
I have an amazing team of women at my side, who represent me when they work in my Boutique, as well as my assistant, Eileen, who I call Number One. (Yes, a Star Trek reference!)
What sets Kamala apart from other businesses is that customers can feel the heart and soul that has been infused into it. The world is going through some tough stuff right now and people are hungry for something that softens it. Kamala Boutique and Art&Soul does just that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Boston feels like home. I grew up in Holliston, about 25 miles SW of it. A trip to the city has always been exciting, and never grows old, from the time I was 18 and taking the T into Copley Square to go to The School of Fashion Design to taking the occasional trip into a museum now. It never gets old.
Contact Info:
- Address: Kamala Boutique
747 Washington Street
Holliston MA 01746 - Website: www.kamalaboutique.com
- Phone: 508-429-2124
- Email: kamala@kamalaboutique.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamalaboutique/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kamalaboutique/
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