AvaMaria is certainly a versatile boutique. It carries a wide array of emerging New York City designers, as well as many established luxury designer labels. I was able to sit down with owner, Katherine Virketiene, at the store’s prime Soho location to discuss her experiences with AvaMaria (which is partially named after her daughter, Ava).

Upon walking into the boutique you can’t help but notice the wall full of gorgeous designer shoes. What’s even better is that many of these never-been-worn pieces are sold at a discount, as they are from previous seasons. The store is also great for finding unique pieces, as Katherine features a great deal of up and coming designers.

Some of the lines that AvaMaria carries that Katherine loves include:

• Dasgupta, a line of dresses cut for curvy women,
• Chulette, basics that are anything but basic,
• Lover, an Australian line of lace dresses,  
•  Marie-Lise Lachapelle, a jewelry line which utilizes real flowers, and
• Jill Davis Studio, a line of house-adorned jewelry.

Katherine also cites some of her happiest times of the year as being the few weeks just before the holidays and also during the spring in which the boutique is filled with party dresses. She says, “I always have a soft spot for party dresses because before the boutique I made ballroom costumes.” Here’s what else Katherine had to say:

What made you decide to open the boutique?

I had a previous boutique on the Lower East Side. I started because I used to have my own line and it was so hard selling to stores. I managed to get different designers who I met along the way and managed to get them in the store. It turns out I’m pretty good at it!

Have you always been interested in fashion?

Yeah, it started with Barbies. My mother said, “I’m not going to pay the same amount for your clothes as Barbie clothes,” and she gave me a set of fabric. My Barbies actually got pretty fabulous clothing!

What are some of the challenges of opening/owning a boutique in NYC?

It’s very strange because while there are all these emerging designers, there are a lot of good ones, but there’s a lot of competition. Every label that you think is a little niche label has apparently been discovered. With a lot of new labels there are a lot of constraints. Economically it is tough on them. Two of the bigger challenges are how to turn down emerging designers discreetly, and juggling being a mother of a young child with my professional obligations. It's fun for Ava to be at a trade show for about 30 minutes with all the bright lights and colorful
merchandise, but after that it's a trial for everyone involved.

What makes your store different from others?

I definitely am not the first, but I have previous season designer items. Unlike at Century 21 you don’t have to fight the tourists. Because we’re so small you get a lot more customer service. We have outlet prices with the customer service of a smaller boutique. And with emerging designers you get unique pieces that hopefully no one else has.

Why is it important for you to showcase local designers?

It’s hard for a lot to break in and there is a lot of high quality and creative work. There really are some very nice things. Everyone wants a special piece. You don’t always want to go to Macy’s and get the same piece as thousands of other women.

Describe your typical customer.

Mid-20’s to 50’s, working women. A lot work in the creative industry because there are a lot of studios around. A lot of tourists. They are excited to see Manolo Blahniks because the luxury show market here is in some ways more diverse. You can’t get Manolo Blahniks in Germany. They like New York labels.

What types of items fly off of the shelves?

The high end shoes are always very popular. Worishofer sandals, Repettos - people always come looking for them.

What are your favorite trends of the moment?

Long skirts. But I think the way I buy I try to get more season-less items. I love prints, I love color. I look for things that flatter a woman’s body. It is very important to me to have clothes that are more than just sizes 2 and 4. I stock up to size 12 with some items in size 16. In shoes I stock sizes 5 to 11. That is more important to me than trends to buy a nice flattering piece that you can wear for seasons. Items are not priced fast fashion price, so they aren’t meant to be worn that way.

What is in store for the boutique in the future?

We’re getting more little labels which I’m very excited about. We are also, in probably two weeks, getting baby and children’s. Since we’ve been here we’ve noticed that there are a lot of people with kids who will buy children’s clothing. We’ve noticed that there are surprisingly few children’s boutiques down here.

To get more information about AvaMaria, visit their website, www.virketyne.com, and be sure to stay up to date on their current sales and announcements at their ChicTiq page located here.