The Yellow Stitch Boutique Story
I would like to start off by thanking you for visiting Yellow Stitch Boutique! We hope that with each visit, kindness, generosity, and loving your neighbor spreads! Yellow Stitch Boutique is a women/children's clothing boutique located in Bismarck, the heart of North Dakota. My name is Valerie and I am the owner of YSB. I am a wife to Tyler and proud mother to three of the most amazing young girls. Lauren is our oldest, Makenna is our middle daughter and Kate is the baby of the family. In July and August of 2019, I was feeling tugs on my heart. I had movement in my faith and I could feel God calling me....I just didn't know what he was calling me to do. I felt like something was missing in my life. I didn’t know how that was possible because my life was happy and so busy I didn’t know how I could possibly add anything. I searched, prayed and tried to listen to my heart. I talked to Tyler, my husband, wrote down ideas and still didn’t know what it was I was looking for. I realized, after much self-reflection, I was yearning to DO MORE!!!!!! Not just more stuff......I wanted to help more! I’m a giver and a people pleaser! I’m a busy body who is really bad at relaxing and I was wanting MORE in an already full schedule. I felt the constant need to DO MORE GOOD. I love volunteering and serving others, but as a mom of 3, time was not something I had an abundance of to be giving. I thought about the people I wanted to help. I thought about my family. I thought about what I was good at. I thought about the future. I thought about the strengths of my daughters. I thought about Tyler’s schedule and how I could fit anything else in. I tried to piece it all together. It just didn’t click. My mom took the girls shopping for school and I thought about how it would be nice if some of the styles were cheaper for young girls. I had talked to the girls’ other Grandma about school shopping while they were showing her all their new treasures one night when we had her over for supper and she told me with 3 girls I might as well open my own shop and we laughed about it while watching Kate show off an outfit. She had no idea how much she inspired me during the time I knew her. She passed away just a little over a month later and our world changed drastically. She was one of the most amazing influences on my girls and we didn’t know what life looked like without her. We didn’t want to know. But then the tugs on my heart started getting stronger and in a matter of 3 weeks after her death her idea became my dream! “With three girls, you should just open your own shop” turned into a reality and each step of the way I kept her in mind. I applied to name my new business Yellow Stitch Boutique because Lynnette Blakeman loved Yellow and for as long as I knew her she was the thread that kept so many people stitched together. I never imagined that selling clothes would enable me the opportunity to DO MORE, but it has been the perfect addition to our family! It is a true family business and it has enhanced the relationship I have with each of my girls! We choose a mission each month and that mission is an organization or group of people that we want to help! Our ultimate mission is to keep Lynnette’s giving, kind, faithful, grace-filled and servant’s heart legacy alive everyday! I love all things about the boutique, especially helping people find affordable and quality clothing, and helping groups of people, but my favorite thing is to watch these three beautiful girls grow in their roles as employees and future owners! They take such pride in helping and they are learning so much about service to others! They watched me fall on my face with mistakes when we first opened, but we have learned and will continue to learn! They have helped me help teachers, fellow students, Organizations that help abused women and children, school counselors, our food pantries, and we will continue to help many more. My heart overflows each month we get to complete our mission and to plan our next. My family has helped me build it from the ground up! Tyler and the girls help me choose styles, they help me take photos and package up orders and they help me come up with ideas for monthly missions! I just want to thank all our amazing customers who helped a dream become a reality very quickly and the many people who believe in us to serve them! We are incredibly grateful! Thank you for your part in making Yellow Stitch Boutique a success by allowing us to serve you and by helping us help others!