Country Road, Take Me Shopping

My friend Miranda is the young owner of The Yellow Button boutique in Harrisonburg, Virginia, my former college town. I interned with her a few summers ago, so I stopped by this past weekend while passing through to see how she was doing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she was too swamped with customers to greet me right away. In the two years since opening, The Yellow Button has grown physically (the shop now extends into part of its former storeroom) and in popularity. Miranda carries a high/low mix of bohemian-chic pieces from well-known brands such as Free People, Frye and TOMS, as well as lesser-known brands such as the Korean line Thursday Island. (“They just don’t make larges!” she laughs, telling me about customer’s reactions to the South Korea-manufactured label’s diminutive size run.) On top of her retail prowess, Miranda has an eye for really cute furniture, much of it antique – we discussed the best locations to scout for new pieces and techniques for bringing new life to fun vintage finds. Her morning ritual of poring over design blogs is evident in the impressive refinishing she’s done with a lot of her pieces – something that’ll come in handy when decorating the new house she just purchased for herself! Once the food co-op opens, she says, she’ll be able to walk everywhere. (Yes, there’s a food co-op opening in Harrisonburg! Visit www.friendlycityfoodcoop.com for more information.) Hopefully once Miranda is all settled in, we’ll be able to see how she transforms her new digs! Until then, enjoy the pictures of her store.