Leading with Hart: Top Carlsbad Boutique Stands Strong on Behalf of Local Businesses
Adore Boutique in Carlsbad, CA
This article was updated July 13, 2024.
Update: ADORE Boutique Current Locations
FORUM CARLSBAD
1925 Calle Barcelona, Carlsbad, California 92009, United States
Click Here For Adore Boutique Lifestyle Magazine
CARLSBAD, CA, DEC. 2020 V SHADES — On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Carlsbad, Angelina Hart, owner of Adore Boutique, warmly greets customers as they enter her store to shop for unique clothing and items created by local business owners.
This is a typical day for the Carlsbad Village boutique as its ideal location attracts both long-time Carlsbad residents and fist-time tourists; all eager for the opportunity to appropriate new apparel and privately-made items to add to their collection of life possessions. The sunny weather and ocean view certainly serve as great perks to the elite shopping experience.
Located in downtown Carlsbad and just blocks from the beach, Adore Boutique is home to clothing, fashion accessories, jewelry, art, home decor, artisan food and rare handmade gifts all specially created locally by brand owners in the San Diego Area.
“I have the most incredible vendors. What we offer here is a very unique shopping experience. These are not items that you’re going to find at a mall or on Amazon. Several of the small businesses make their products by hand. They are very talented artisans, makers and curators. This allows us to have an amazing selection of products”, says Hart.
Its for that reason that Adore Boutique seems to have something for just about everyone and stands as the perfect place for visitors to stumble upon great finds as well as businesses to have a sought-after place to sell their goods.
Adore Boutique was created with the community and local business owners in mind. It’s open-space concept features large windows, high ceilings, and graceful decor giving local brands and shoppers an alluring setting to buy and sell.
“There has been a huge shift in the consciousness of shopping and people really want to get back to their roots and the community and buy something that’s handmade, unique and one-of-a-kind. That’s what we offer here”, says Hart.
Multiple brands coming together to sell their pieces in one store is a retail concept known as a collective, something very popular in Hart’s home state of Texas. But, her desire to create something new and innovative drove her to keep the design of the store top of mind so that shoppers could have a more luxurious experience while procuring new items.
“I wanted to do a collective, but in an open floor plan concept so when you walk in it flows like a boutique and everything blends nicely; but you can also see everything in the store. It's a better visual when the customer walks in”, Hart explains.
Hart’s design choice not only benefits those yearning for a prime retail experience, but also the many vendors whose products are visible from almost every point in the store.
“There’s not any blocked space in this store, everything is open and accessible”, Hart describes.
The boutique itself is home to approximately 40 businesses which motivates Hart every single day to not only make her store the best that it can be, but in the challenging times of COVID-19, to stay open. Staying open is exactly what Hart plans to do as the store remains in accordance with health and safety guidelines.
The complication of a pandemic shifting the way society operates was not something Hart had in mind when she began planning to open her store back in December of 2019. At that time, Hart was set on opening Adore on June 1st, 2020 no matter what.
“I began planning this right as COVID started. That wasn’t going to derail me at all… I decided to start this up to support other small businesses that want to get a traditional retail setting. Supporting local has always been a very important thing for me”, says Hart.
In the midst of the pandemic, Hart witnessed other collectives in the area going out of business, leaving vendors displaced with no place to sell their products. That truth served as ammunition for Hart to create a space for local business owners to remain open for business, downsize their current business or newly start selling at a cost-effective rate.
As such, her projected open date of June 1st, 2020 happened to coincide with the first set of stay-at-home orders being lifted; and thus Adore Boutique at Carlsbad Village was born.
As It’s widely reported, COVID-19 has largely impacted the lives of people around the world. With 1.67 Million people, according to Google, having passed away from the illness to date, stay at home orders have become mandatory in many parts of the world; impacting people and business both large and small.
But, for someone like Angelina who is a self-proclaimed natural-born fighter, she proudly stands strong in the face of COVID in order to serve her community in the best way she knows how. Standing strong is something that quite literally runs in her blood.
“My ancestors fought in the revolutionary war. So, I’m a member of The D.A.R. which is the Daughters of the American Revolution…I have some really strong-willed ancestors and they were determined. They were fighters and it's just who I am”, says Hart.
Following the success of Adore’s Carlsbad Village location, Hart immediately started planning for another location and soon opened Adore Boutique at The Forum, another popular shopping, dining and entertainment hub located in the heart of Carlsbad.
“[Adore Boutique at Carlsbad Village] was doing so well, I opened my second one on September first… twice as big as this one”, Hart explains.
But, the success of two retail stores didn’t encompass the fullness of the vision Hart had for supporting those in her community, so she didn’t stop there. Following the news that art shows and festivals had been cancelled due to the pandemic, Hart immediately recognized a need for artists to exhibit their work. So, on November 1st, she opened Adore Art Gallery at the Forum with the intention of supporting local artists.
“I had been focusing on small business this whole year… So, I thought it's time to support the local artists as well”, says Hart.
What started up as a two-month pop-up for artists to showcase their work became an even bigger hit than expected. The positive response from the community prompted Hart to continue providing the space for artists to display their work, thus allowing Adore Art Gallery at the Forum to exist in a permanent fashion.
Creating spaces for others to thrive in her community of Carlsbad is a reality that is now bigger than Hart. Across all her stores, she now represents approximately 100 local businesses and artists in the San Diego area. Hart remains planted in her belief that allowing people to continue to earn their livelihood is of the highest importance, especially during these times.
“That’s why we will remain open. It’s absolutely critical that we remain open and support them. It’s an honor to be able to do this for them”, says Hart.
Prior to making her mark in the world of fashion and retail, Hart was in the aviation business for many years. In fact, it was her career in aviation that caused her to leave her home in Texas and relocate to Southern California in order to finish her flight training.
As a private pilot, Hart flew all over the world and brilliantly used her time overseas to expand her knowledge of sourcing materials and build relationships with factory owners. These efforts are what set the foundation for Hart to be a trailblazer in the world of retail and fashion.
It comes as no surprise that Hart’s tenacity radiates through her decision-making in business as Adore Boutique is not her first rodeo when it comes to making a splash in the world of retail. For the past ten years, Hart has been selling her own brand of jewelry, handbags, scarves and accessories, called Angelina Hart and Hartique Gems. Her experience is what qualifies her as the perfect person to understand the needs of both sellers and consumers.
In fact, it was her own deep-rooted understanding of brand ownership that helped allow the idea of opening up a store for people to sell their creations. Hart built her personal brand from the ground up by developing relationships with manufacturers in India and Italy in order to create an eco-friendly product line that also provides high-quality fashion.
Hart’s line of gemstones, Hartique Gems, is made in India while Angelina Hart leather handbags, silk scarves and cashmere scarves are made in Italy. All of which are available at her Carlsbad retail locations and online at www.Hart.Boutique.
As an experienced equestrian, dog-owner and animal rights activist, Hart made maintaining moral authority over how her products are created a staple of her brand.
“I work with a small factory who sources the leather from cows who live a free life. We never support slaughterhouses or inhumane animal treatment”, Hart explains.
Such high-quality care for the animals comes through in the quality of her final product.
“The cows live a free and happy life which is reflected in the quality of the leather”, says Hart.
The same environmentally-friendly practices go into creating Hartique Gems. With no mining done on the earth, utilizing recycled resources and having gems cut in a laboratory in India while set in Los Angeles, Hart’s ethically-sourced products allow her to offer aesthetically-pleasing fashion pieces that do not harm the planet or put minors at risk.
“I call it smart luxury. It’s the new kind of luxury”, says Hart.
With three Carlsbad locations to manage, Hart has plenty on her plate to keep herself busy. But, for a visionary like her, there is always more to come.
Right now, along with designing a line of men's apparel, Hart is developing a comedic scripted series loosely based on her own colorful life experiences. That, along with expanding her retail business to tap into the high-end consignment market is what is coming next for Hart.
“As someone who appreciates the finer things, I have a soft spot for luxury items”, Hart explains.
But, there is a hole in the world of luxury consignment through which Hart is confident she can innovate. While most high-end consignment enterprises require 50%-60% of an owner’s resale value, Hart will offer a 15%-25% alternative for luxury item owners who’d like a place to sell their high-value items.
“When you sell a bag, I believe you should get more for your money”, says Hart.
By providing the option to either rent space or sell individual items in her current stores and future luxury consignment boutique, Hart is gearing up to provide a one-of-a- kind luxury reselling experience for gently-used items at the top of 2021.
With personal interests that span across animal rights, local charities, product design, writing, aviation, target shooting, motor sports, activism, entrepreneurship and community, it’s clear that there is much more than meets the eye to this fashion-loving business owner. Leading with heart in all aspects of her life shows that there are many shades to the driven and passionate leader that is Angelina Hart.
Lending truth to the traditional belief that every leader must have a meaningful destination to lead others to, through action, Hart lives up to a quote that she says has driven her to all the success that she has seen to date:
“Fear causes hesitation and hesitation will make your worst fears come true”.
Thanks to such fearless leadership, the people of Carlsbad certainly have a safe place to turn in Adore Boutique whenever they need an extra dose of inspiration, love, joy and of course, fashion.