Hillsdale residents now have more options to shop for clothes in downtown Hillsdale after HMNstyle opened up this summer.
The store specializes in having a diverse array of clothes and being inclusive in both its pricing and sizing, said Nikki Maynard, marketing director at HMNstyle.
Maynard said they wanted to have options for everyone from the local college students to residents of the nearby senior home.
“Soon after starting, we decided to run with a message of inclusivity,” Maynard said. “That has now become the image for our brand.”
HMNstyle first started as an online store, right in the midst of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founder and current CEO of HMNstyle Scott Pienta said he saw an opportunity during the pandemic to kick start an online boutique with a strong live-streaming presence, a business idea he’d had for a number of years.
“I realized before COVID the growing potential for online shopping and had been planning it for several years,” Pienta said. “I am excited that technology and recent events have fast-tracked this new opportunity forward and allowed us to bring quality products and reasonable prices to consumers that shop traditionally or online.”
Maynard joined the HMNstyle team while it was still online only, but she soon realized that the company needed a physical location.
“Our homes were just overridden with clothes and recording equipment,” she said. “We knew having a store would allow us to use that as a warehouse and store while allowing us to go back to our normal lives.”
As soon as the first physical location of the store opened downtown, Maynard said the community’s support had been overwhelming.
“From the start, we’ve been shown a lot of support,” Maynard said. “We didn’t expect the store to so quickly take on a life of its own, but we are figuring it out.”
She attributes part of that to HMNstyle’s “Uniquely You” message.
“We pride ourselves on just knowing that we’re offering something different,” she said.
After visiting HMNstyle with a few friends, senior Anna Bassols said she was impressed by their diverse clothing selections, reasonable prices, size inclusivity, and fashion-forwardness.
“All three of us are different sizes and have different tastes, but all of us left with something we really liked,” Bassols said. “In Hillsdale, we usually have to wait for trends to trickle down into the Walmart section or go to Coldwater or Jackson to get clothes. Other boutiques in town are lovely, but frankly not priced for college students.”
Junior Megan Pidcock also said she was impressed by the accessibility of the pricing.
“I like the variety of styles offered at affordable price points. I think they have a lot of good options for athletic wear and more business or formal attire at prices that fit within the college student budget, and they had a few sales over the summer,” Pidcock said.
Maynard said that while the store is already doing well, they hope to continue to fine-tune it to fit the community’s needs.
“We look at this as a partnership between us and our customers,” she said. “We aren’t trying to do things on our own. We love suggestions and teaming up with the community. If you came into the store and said that you wanted to do a photo shoot, I’d be like hell yeah.”
