Serving as the only local and family owned fashion boutique of its kind in downtown College Park, On Cloud 9 has lifted female students to fashion heaven. Located at 4513 College Ave., the shop’s white walls, lime-green trim and mini dresses in the window attract female students who are famished for fashion.
The walls are lined celling to floor with college girl necessities, from dresses to sweatshirts. There are large gray tables with items meticulously folded, complimented by a lounge area with oversized armchairs that sit on top of a brown fluffy rug.
“I’ve heard people say that when they walk into our store, it is like they are stepping out of College Park for just a moment,” the store manager and university alumna Briana Abedi said. “We get a lot of girls that come in to socialize, take a break and look around.”
The warm and comfortable atmosphere of the store comes from the fact that three of the six employees are daughters of the owner, and the rest attended high school in Potomac together.
“The best part about working here is that it feels like a home away from home,” said sophomore psychology major Danielle Capon.
Opened this year on March 1, it is the boutique’s second location. Owner Carol Gowling opened her first On Cloud 9 boutique in Potomac eight years ago when she realized there was no store in the area catering to her middle-school-aged children’s need for formal wear for bar and bat mitzvahs.
The College Park location of On Cloud 9 caters toward an older, college-aged consumer. Their main clientele are sorority girls who live down the block and athletes.
As Gowling’s children grew older than the customers of her Potomac store and enrolled at Maryland, she discovered another opportunity to open a store where her children knew the market.
“When we came here freshman year she had me sell clothes out of my dorm room to see what students would be willing to buy,” daughter and employee Brittany Karakostas, a junior psychology major said.
The girls run the store mostly on their own, Gowling only stops in now a few times a week. Karakostas and Abedi, along with help from the other sisters also accompany Gowling on buying trips to New York showrooms. “I would say the store offers unique, trendy yet still affordable items to students,” Abedi said. “You couldn’t find this kind of stuff at local malls.”
“It’s all about convenience,” Karakostas said, “There is no competition except for online stores, so we reduce our prices accordingly and there is no shipping charge.”
The girls started off by posting flyers around campus, creating a Facebook and Twitter group, but now most marketing for the store is from word of mouth, Karakostas said.
The store now makes approximately two to three thousand dollars a day, sees about 30 customers a day and has a customer loyalty club, Karakostas said.
“There is a really wide variety in a small space,” said customer Keara McMahon, a junior psychology major. “I love their jewelry, its my favorite here and is reasonably priced for such high quality.”
“It is a perfect stop after class if you want to get a new top for that night out in D.C.,” said customer and junior biology major Lisa Pietrenuto, “It’s so convenient because its two blocks from my sorority house and most people don’t have cars to go to a mall.”
Hours are 12 to 8 everyday except Sunday where it closes at 6. Best sellers are going out tops, gifts and formal dresses, Karakostas said. “I see my mom more than the regular college kid, some people would find it annoying but we’re a close family and it’s nice that we get to work together,” Karakostas said. “My mom will yell at me in front of customers, so sometimes it still feels like home, and we can share that with others.”