She Magazine

Boobé (Kenosha)

Published:
By Deneen Smith

First, the name.

Boobé is pronounced boo-bay, not boo-bee. And according to owner Lynn Fox, it has nothing to do with what you think it does.

“It’s Cajun slang for grandmother’s house, and at the time I opened I lived in my grandmother’s house,” Fox said.

Whatever the source of the name, Fox opened the shop six years ago, first in a small space across the street from the U.S. Post Office in downtown Kenosha, then in a larger space in the same building. For the past three years the boutique is in a second-floor room lit by a big overhead skylight at 5706 Sixth Ave.

The shop specializes in what Fox calls “urban essentials” — clothing, jewelry, shoes, handbags, hats and women’s accessories like handmade scarves.

The selection is limited — just a few of each item. Fox said she looks for things she think will appeal to customers’ tastes and her own.

“I can’t buy something (for the store) if I don’t like it myself. And I usually know right away if it is something that is going to work. It’s like making a photograph — you see an image and you capture the image,” Fox said. “If I see something that catches my eye, I buy it. And 90 percent of the time it will sell.”

One of the specialities of the store is Lampe Berger, a Paris-made home fragrance lamp that uses century-old technology to destroy odors and scent the air. Fox sells the lamps at the store, at in-home parties, and at a spa in Racine.

Fox has an unusual approach to the retail business.

Her store has limited hours — open three days a week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

It is somewhat difficult to find, with its upstairs location and minimal advertising at street level. There is just a simple sign on the sidewalk when the store is open, and a logo on the door to the street.

Fox said likes the understated nature of her shop, and its quiet nature at the top of a steep flight of stairs. “I kind of like the fact that its kind of a hidden little secret,” she said.

“I never said ‘I am going to open a store.’ It just happened. It just evolved,” she said. “It happened because my mom and I took a jewelry class.”

Fox grew up in Kenosha but has lived around the country working both as an art photographer and as a nurse. She lived in Fort Worth, Texas, Birmingham, Ala., and Beverly Hills, Calif., as well as New York and the Dominican Republic, where she studied photography.

She returned to Kenosha to spend more time with her aging parents.

Fox and her mother, Elaine Fox, took a jewelry-making class together, and Lynn began selling her creations. Selling jewelry led her to open the first Boobé shop, and customers soon convinced her to add women’s accessories to the mix. The store grew from there.

Her mother loved the store and spent time there knitting and chatting with customers. Her handmade scarves were sold in the shop. She died last year but remains much in her daughter’s mind.

“I love Boobé, it’s like my little baby,” Fox said. “We started it from scratch, and I never imagined it would be what it is today.”

Store: Boobé

Address: 5706 Sixth Ave., upper level, Kenosha.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

Phone: 262-925-1010