Exposed brick accented by turquoise walls and cheerful string lights come together seamlessly to create a warm and inviting space at Aoki Boutique. This is exactly what founder, owner and sole employee Alina Alter was hoping to achieve. The three words she uses to describe her shop are: colorful, whimsical, and inviting. Located just two blocks from Rittenhouse Square, Aoki is filled with charming house wares, quirky paper products, and of course, stylish clothing.
A fellow Temple Alumni of the School of Tourism and Hospitality, Alter opened Aoki Boutique in April of 2012 when she was just 24 years old. The name Aoki came from her pet cat that she decided to use as inspiration.
“She’s the shop muse and mascot,” said Alter, “She embodies the spirit of the shop.”
When Alter got the idea that she wanted to open a shop in Philadelphia, she hit the ground running and opened Aoki in only six months.
“It was a way for me to have a space to create a nice ambience and atmosphere for people, which I took from my hospitality studies, and to curate a collection of some sort to add that retail component in there,” said Alter, “I really wanted my own operation.”
Philadelphia is filled with small businesses and entrepreneurs trying to start themselves up. Alter, a Philadelphia native, wanted to start her shop in Philadelphia because of its thriving and supportive small business community.
“The city has this really DIY ethos which just really supports small businesses and entrepreneurs. People want to make something of themselves here. It’s really accessible,” said Alter.
Alter and Aoki Boutique have been featured in publications such as Nylon and The Huffington Post. For the feel of her shop, Alter draws inspiration from her travels, especially Tokyo, where she traveled through Temple’s Tokyo program.
“I saw the people there using fashion and style as such an authentic means of self expression,” said Alter, “It was then that I realized style, fashion they’re not trivial. It can really be an important vehicle for making a statement, for showing who you are.”
Alter does all the buying for her shop. She likes to buy authentically and looks at it as something personal and organic. If she’s carrying something in her shop it is because she loves it and she hopes that other people love it too.
Alter wanted to make Aoki an inviting space for women to be able to express themselves in many different ways. “I always knew that I wanted it to be a multipurpose space,” said Alter. A beautiful painting hung behind the checkout counter. It is the work of a local female artist. Alter said she tries to rotate the works every few months. “I try and give other local women, entrepreneurs, and artists a stage to show their work,” said Alter, “I really wanted it to be an empowering, inviting, comfortable space for women to come and shop, but also explore different sides of themselves and take little risks here and there and just have fun.”
For more information on Aoki Boutique visit the website or follow Alina on instagram @aokiboutique.