Tradition usually calls for a gift of tin or aluminum for a 10th anniversary. You may find something of the kind at one of Old Town Alexandria’s boutique shops, but the Old Town Boutique District (OTBD)—a collective of locally-owned shops—had some other ideas on how to celebrate its 10-year milestone.
Though the idea, and a registered domain name, had been kicking around in The Shoe Hive and The Hive owner Elizabeth Todd’s head since 2003, OTBD became official in May 2008 when it held its first event featuring 12 Old Town boutique shops.
“There was just no common link bringing us all together,” says Todd. “And this was before Facebook and Instagram and, you know, really email marketing hadn’t started like it has. It was more difficult to unify then.”
OTBD became that link between local stores, helping to spread the news about each other, providing an alternative for shoppers from the big box stores or online shopping and to helping make Old Town Alexandria a shopping destination. In addition, Todd feels that Old Town has become the home for independent retailers thanks to the “structured environment for stores to come and open” and the “marketing cooperative and unified group of stores” thanks to OTBD.
In its 10 years, OTBD has grown from 12 stores in 2008 to more than 30. Todd helped oversee some of that growth, for a time serving as the group’s president before stepping down in 2016. OTBD is currently led by Megan Podolsky, the owner of 529 Kids Consign, who took over in October 2017. As president, Podolsky is overseeing the two special initiatives that OTBD launched for its 10th anniversary: its VIP program and a Shop Local movement.
The VIP program allows shoppers to receive a 10 percent discount at stores plus special offers at OTBD’s wellness and food shops for one year, the proceeds from which support OTBD marketing and community event efforts. The Shop Local initiative, on the other hand, is signified by a decal designed by local artists Cindy Wallace and Brittany Gabel to identify OTBD members in an effort to encourage shoppers to come in and support the stores, and in turn the community.
“We’re just hoping that it re-energizes the boutique community and really gets people to focus on shopping small and to support and invest in your community,” says Podolsky. “The two work hand in hand.”
Podolsky hopes that these efforts will have a similar community effect that the previously proposed Business Improved District measure would have had on Old Town. BID would have levied a tax on real estate, which caused mixed reaction among some OTBD members who own their own buildings, but it would have generated revenue to bring events and programming to the area. “[OTBD has] sort of taken the initiative now,” says Podolsky.
While online shopping has become a tough competitor for brick and mortar stores, social media has increased stores’ ability to market themselves. But the experience of shopping is what OTBD wants to continue to pursue, as is the sense of community that has been fostered.
“It’s an experience to come to Old Town and the more that we work together and put more events together and do more activities, the better,” says Todd.
“We just really want to have a voice in the town and give the community what they want in our own capacity,” adds Podolsky. “Just really making that connection.”
