Juniper’s owner, Tamar Laske has hopes of opening Magnolia, a similar store geared at an older audience, in Stewart Square between the “UPS” and DuBois store sometime in May. (LIZ HAERING | The Miami Student)
The owners of Juniper will be opening a sister store called Magnolia in Stewart Square this summer, in order to cater to an older age group.
Juniper, a clothing store located on High Street, has clothing and accessories that are more popular styles for juniors than adults, according to owner Tamar Laske.
Laske said people have repeatedly told her that Oxford needed a store like Juniper that would provide similar options for adults.
"For years I have been asked to do something that's a little more grown up," Laske said. "I also think that more can be added to the selection in Oxford, in terms of gifts and things of that nature."
Magnolia will differ from Juniper not only in its age demographic, but also in its content, Laske said.
"We are going to move all of the shoes out of Juniper and put them into Magnolia, since we will have much more space to devote to them in Magnolia," Laske said. "We will also have gifts. We're planning on putting a lot of energy and effort into a nice gift selection over there."
However, Magnolia will not be totally different from its sister store Juniper.
"Magnolia will be similar to Juniper in that it will sell clothing, jewelry, handbags, accessories, with some styles similar to those found at Juniper," Laske said.
The store will be located in Stewart Square, but the opening date is yet to be determined.
"It's going to be right between DuBois (Bookstore) and UPS," Laske said. "As far as an exact opening date, I don't know, but it will be in May."
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The Juniper owner said until the store opens, no exact hiring date could be given. Once Magnolia has opened its doors, people will be able to apply for positions.
News of the store opening may come as a surprise to some, since there has not been a lot of advertising for Magnolia yet.
"I haven't started a lot of advertising because I don't think doing ads when you don't know when the store's opening is a good thing," Laske said. "We did do a promo in a luncheon that was hosted by the Chamber of Commerce though."
Miami University first-year Kristen Timmons said she is excited for the opening of Magnolia.
"I think Juniper has unique things and so now there will be more clothing options available for women in Oxford," Timmons said.
Timmons said she plans on visiting Magnolia after the opening, especially to check out the accessories selection.
"I like (Juniper's) handbags, I think they're really cute," she said. "I'm excited to see the selection they have at Magnolia."
Sophomore Nicole Gardner is also anxious for the store's opening.
"I have been to Juniper multiple times and I love their clothes, but I feel like Juniper caters to more of a junior demographic," she said.
Gardner said she is looking forward to having another clothing store option in Oxford that is more geared towards her age group.
Apart from the clothing and accessories, Gardner is also looking forward to engaging with the staff at Magnolia.
"The staff at Juniper is nice and very helpful," she said. "Hopefully Magnolia will hold their staff to that same standard."
In terms of the opening itself, Laske is not yet focusing on it.
"At this point my brain is so crazy trying to figure things out that I don't even think about the opening much," she said. "Once we get the doors open, I'll be happy."
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