Entrepreneur and musician April White opens her shop with a blend of rugged chic and fantasy.
Citing that Williams is a “cute little town where everyone has your back,” musician and entrepreneur April White has opened her newest highly curated business adventure, Cowgirls & Fairies.
Located downtown, Cowgirls & Fairies is an eclectic women’s boutique that White refers to as whimsical and experiential, bringing big city shopping to a small town. “I will be offering a creative combination of luxury and rugged feminine Boho chic, desert cowgirl dresses, Western designer accessories, hats, shoes and boots, belts, purses, jewelry, leather goods, inspirational framed art and soaps.”
Designer juice-soda hybrids and difficult-to-get Leaves of Leisure tea will also be included in her inventory.
Inspired by Draw Tool singer and lyricist Maynard James Keenan, the immersive store will embody White’s ethereal pop music project, “Violet and the Sun.”
“My music will play throughout the store, adding an other-worldly backdrop to my boutique,” she said. “Keenan opened a store called Puscifer in Jerome. His gift shop and barber shop reflects Keenan’s musical style. With Cowboys & Fairies, I saw an opportunity to create a store that would embody my musical sensibilities in a similar way.”
The Cowgirls & Fairies store will feature a MoMA PS1-esque art installation on the roof of her store. “It’s called ‘Beyond the Veil’ and evokes images of a magical celestial cloud during sunset.”
“I’m super excited about Cowgirls & Fairies,” said Jennifer Roberds, co-owner of Muley Forge, a Williams shop that sells metal- and wood-crafted art, jewelry and furniture. “This store is going to add a unique shopping experience to the great stores already in town. April is adding a different angle to our local fashion that will be appreciated by locals and tourists alike. The coolest experience is while you are shopping, you can hear April’s beautiful music – and you can take it home with you.”
White worked as a reporter in her hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, before moving to New York to pursue a career in public relations. During that 10-year period, she and a friend started a band and moved to Los Angeles and soon afterward, to Northern Arizona.
“We decided that the band would have an easier time breaking through in a smaller market here,” she said. “It’s a crazy market in Los Angeles and everyone is looking for an audience.”
Aaron Day, a long-time friend and key member of Violet and the Sun, stepped in to collaborate with White on her endeavor. “April and I met in New York and we transitioned to Los Angeles and then here to Northern Arizona,” said Day, administrative and recreation assistant for the City of Sedona Parks and Recreation Department. “I just love her shop. The textures, the patterns all speak of her concepts. She comes up with the ideas and I help her flesh them out.”
Cowgirls & Fairies isn’t White’s first entrepreneurial venture. She founded a successful national strategic communications agency, Trust Relations, three years ago. “We now have more than 30 team members and we work with clients from around the globe,” said White.
She says she’s always been the kind of person who wants to create the things that she wished already existed. “I created the music I wish I could listen to, the public relations firm I wish I could have worked at and, now, the store I’d love to shop at if I were visiting Williams – or as a resident. I hope that Cowgirls & Fairies will capture the imagination of tourists and locals alike, and add a little extra color and vibrancy to the already captivating, picture-perfect vignette that is downtown Williams.”
“This boutique is going to be a great addition to Route 66,” said Rehab and Relax Massage Therapy owner Tifni Sutton. “Having a little something for everyone, from tourists to locals. April has put a lot of work into this chic creation and knowing her artistic side, I’m sure it’s going to shine!”
Drawing from local talent, White is also looking into procuring work from Northern Arizona artists.
Hiking with her three dogs, playing puzzle games on the Xbox, and writing and performing her music top White’s list for off-work fun. FBN
By V. Ronnie Tierney, FBN
Cowgirls & Fairies is located at 106A N. 4th St., in Williams. For more information, visit cowgirlsandfairies.com or contact White at cowgirlsandfairies@gmail.com.
Watch for more from April White and her new Williams boutique in an upcoming edition of Zonie Living: Business, Adventure and Leadership, found at Dave Pratt’s StarWorldwideNetworks.com