If Pinterest was an actual place, it might look something like the Melissa Benge Collection that just opened at 2823 Henderson, in what used to be the Alamo Glass & Mirrors location before it moved last year.
Benge is an artist/designer/stylist with what she calls a “french-western” flair, and the Melissa Benge Collection is a compilation of her favorite items, from her own work or from other designers and artists. The front of the store is all lace and pearls (the french), and the back room features her Americana collection (the western).
My first thought upon entering the building was, “Yeah like I could afford this place…” but a lot of the merch is surprisingly affordable, which is important to Benge.
“Our prices really range the gamut,” she says. “I wanted to carry some stuff that’s an investment purchase and some stuff that’s more an impulse buy, because I’ve been that college girl who liked pretty things, or that single mom who liked pretty things.”
The store on Henderson isn’t Benge’s first rodeo. She’s opened several other stores, including Gunslingers in Bandera, Texas, she says. I guess after 10 or so stores, you start losing count.
The Melissa Benge Collection has everything from clothes, jewelry and boots, to soap and candles, to decorative knick-knacks and pieces of rustic furniture. Benge launched a soft opening on Friday and plans to host a grand opening some time in the next couple weeks.
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