Editor’s note: We continue our series of stories about local business owners and the unique merchandise and services they have for sale, just in time for Christmas.
Montana Thatcher was born in Clovis. She recently moved home from college to Las Cruces at New Mexico State University. This year she became the independent owner of a new clothing boutique, Twisted Rayne’s, located at the corner of 4th and Pile streets.
Q: Where are you from? How long have you lived here?
A: I was born and raised in Clovis, New Mexico. I went to Texas High.
Q: What were you doing before starting Twisted Raynes?
A: I went to university. I went to the state of New Mexico in Las Cruces, and I graduated there with a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising and a minor in marketing. I graduated in May 2022. I then returned to Clovis and opened my business.
Q: Was it always your plan to return to Clovis and open your own store?
A: No. I really wanted to be a buyer. I really planned to go and work for another company and do all their shopping, but the more I researched and the more I researched, it just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. And I was really homesick, so it just worked.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about running your own business so far?
A: I really enjoy interacting with people and impacting them with sales, dressing them up and seeing their smiles when they have a nice outfit.
Q: What can people find in your store?
A: It’s women’s clothing. I cater more to adolescents and even middle-aged women. I try to make my inventory versatile, where it could go either way, because I feel like our community is lacking in women’s clothing.
I also do a bit of home decorating. I have little gift guides that can be given for birthdays or the like. I also sell a lot of jewelry.
Q: What have you sold the most so far?
A: Probably clothes.
Q: Where do you get your clothes?
A: There are different markets all over the place. For the first time, I went to the Dallas market. I’m going to the Las Vegas market in February. There are also online sales for different vendors, so I can select from different vendors online if I need to fill up my inventory or if I run out of something. I can find the brands I need and reorder them.
Q: What is a little known fact about you?
A: I used to be a big tomboy. I was not a fashionista at all. Then once I got into high school, I fell in love with clothes.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the name of your store? Twisted Rayne.
A: “Twisted” I came up with because I feel like I have a unique style that draws from all different styles from modern to bohemian to classic to western. So that’s where I got “Twisted” from, because everything is intertwined. And then Rayne is my middle name. So I added the “s” at the end.
Q: What prompted you to enter the business?
A: What pushed me to go into fashion was my job at Buckle, where I worked all through high school. What prompted me to enter the business? My dad also has his own business. So I knew certain aspects of business from him. I figured he wanted to start while he was young. He wanted to build a foundation and get to a point where he could hire people so that if he married me and had kids, I could stay home with them.
Q: Do you have any advice for other people considering starting their own business?
A: I would really recommend going with your gut and doing it. I feel like it really worked. I know it’s hard at first and very stressful. But it definitely works together.
Q: What has surprised you the most about owning a small business so far?
A: Honestly, the community. I have had very good support and it has surprised me a lot, but it has been very nice.
Source: news.google.com