Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dressed for success

Posted

Madeline Woods-Wroblicky chose Granbury’s square over Weatherford’s for her children’s boutique, which, for now, at least, means a considerable daily commute.

She and her husband, Michael Wroblicky, plan to move to Granbury, though, after he finishes his master’s degree in business administration.

At 29, Woods-Wroblicky may be the youngest member of the Historic Gran-bury Merchants Association (HGMA). She joined the organization after opening her Madeline Woods Boutique in February of last year.

The entrepreneur sews clothing for babies and toddlers at the back of the boutique on the west side of the square while employee Kathy Garcia waits on customers.

Woods-Wroblicky’s 4-year-old daughter Isla is often with her, and Michael helps out on weekends, bringing along his MBA coursework. Michael works as an engineer at GEODynamics in Millsap, according to his wife.

Woods-Wroblicky said she has sewn ever since her grandmother taught her the skill at age 7.

“It’s been a big part of my life,” she said.

A native of Illinois, Woods-Wroblicky has lived in the area for six years.

“As soon as we saw the Granbury square we just fell in love with its charm and community feeling,” Woods-Wroblicky said.

Although her own handmade creations made up the store’s inventory when the boutique opened, Woods-Wroblicky now carries other brands, most of them based in the USA. Two racks at the front of the store, though, hold baby and toddler clothing sewn by her.

Woods-Wroblicky said that if a customer likes a particular style among her creations, they can custom order the design using fabrics at the back of the store. The turn-around is about two weeks, Woods-Wroblicky said.

Woods-Wroblicky orders fabrics online and tries to pick fabrics that go well together. “It all starts with the fabric, and then I work on my design from there,” she said.

Woods-Wroblicky said that her background is in early childhood development. She began dabbling in children’s clothing in 2011.

The boutique includes a “bib bar” where customers can put their own personal touches on a hand-sewn bib to give as a baby shower gift.

As for other clothing brands, Woods-Wroblicky said she carries the same types of brands that can be found at stores such as Nordstrom’s.

“We’re trying to make it to where people don’t have to drive to the big city to find brands they love,” she said.

The boutique features clothing items up to size 12 (pre-teen) for girls and up to size 8 for boys.

On Saturday, June 22, Woods-Wroblicky will open “Cute as a Button,” a build-your-own-stuffed-animal enterprise, on her boutique’s partial second floor.

The stuffed animal workshop can be booked for birthday parties, with children taking home birth certificates along with their stuffed animals.

Woods-Wroblicky said that parents and grandparents alike shop at the Madeline Woods Boutique, and indicated that tourism seems to be on the rise.

“I would say at least 30 percent of our customers are from out of town – the Dallas-Frisco area and quite a bit of out-of-state shoppers,” she said. “There have even been some out-of-the-country visitors as well.”

Woods-Wroblicky said she loves being a business owner on the square.

“We’re really enjoying it so far,” she said. “We’re meeting tons of wonderful people in the community and tons of business owners.”

‘As soon as we saw the Granbury square we just fell in love with its charm and community feeling.’
--Madeline Woods-Wroblicky