“Sequim has everything we were looking for,” said Kaila Martinez, who recently opened Western Wanderer Boutique at 108 W. Washington St., sharing a wall with Hurricane Coffee.
Western Wanderer Boutique’s soft opening was July 15, and its grand opening was Aug. 5.
Martinez said she moved to the area three years ago from Orange County, Calif. with her husband Daniel and two children, fulfilling a long-held dream to live in a small town. They were already familiar with the area because Daniel’s mother lives here; Martinez’s mother and stepfather have followed.
Now, Martinez is fulfilling another dream by opening her boutique specializing in cowboy boots, jeans and other apparel with “a western vibe.”
“For me it was having a place locals could shop that fits our rural community,” she said.
Martinez said that there are many brands for sale at the shop, with the main goal to “stay affordable while maintaining quality and size inclusivity.” Sizes range from small to 3X, and range from everyday wear to wedding guest attire.
Martinez sells the products of some local artists, including work designed by herself and her husband.
One of the Western Wanderer’s near-exclusive special products are leather cowboy boots hand-sewn in tiny Hubbard, Texas. They are designed by a young woman named Jordan Page, who Martinez met through social media.
“She just started to do wholesale, and we are one of the first to sell her boots,” Martinez said, emphasizing that though the boots are a pricier item, they last a long time, hold up under cattle-ranching conditions in Texas while looking stylish, can be wiped clean, and are comfortable and unisex.
Western Wanderer Boutique is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
The boutique’s website (westernwandererboutique.com) will soon feature local models in the shops clothes, taken by a local photographer.
‘She had her vision’
Martinez said she worked in property management for years, and then for a law firm, but decided, “I wanted to work for myself.”
She credits her business sense to her father, who has been an entrepreneur throughout her entire life and now owns two car repair shops and five rentals.
“He’s a real go-getter,” she said. “Though I didn’t have structured business training or education, I learned a lot watching my dad as I was growing up.”
Western Wanderer Boutique started as a 7-foot-by-14-foot trailer with a dressing room, flipped by Martinez from an enclosed landscaping trailer to a pop-up shop.
Adagio Bean and Leaf was the location of the boutique’s first event.
“They welcomed us to the parking lot — it was just fantastic,” Martinez said.
“We outgrew it pretty quickly and had to get a space,” she said, although the pop-up shop is still active.
She is now renting space in downtown Sequim from the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe.
“The relationship has been fantastic,” Martinez said. “They helped me get started and helped us make it what we wanted.”
Martinez has two employees and whole-hearted support from her husband.
“I’m proud of her,” Daniel said. “She basically did this herself. She had her vision and followed through on it.”
Western Wanderer Boutique
Location: 108 W. Washington St.
Contact: 951-723-0814, WesternWandererBoutique@gmail.com
Instagram: @Western_Wanderer_Boutique
Facebook: Western Wanderer Boutique
