Woman in Business: Nicky McKeon
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July 31, 2013
There’s just nothing better than seeing a beautiful baby outfitted in an adorable outfit or gown.
Luckily for people in both Lafourche and now Terrebonne parishes, that kind of children’s attire is readily available with just one trip to Lil’ Sweet Pea’s Boutique.
In business for more than five years, the local boutique has expanded from its Cut Off location to a second storefront on Corporate Drive in Houma.
Owned by sisters Kayla Guidry-Danos and Valerie Guidry-Callais, the business takes pride in offering quality attire for mothers who want to dress their child to the nines.
“Being a mom, there is something deep inside that you want your children to look their best,” Guidry-Danos said. “It feels good when people compliment the way your children are dressed. We enjoy the feeling, and we want other parents to experience that feeling also.”
Lil’ Sweet Pea’s Boutique was created through fate for the local sisters.
Guidry-Danos said both she and her sister worked in children’s boutiques throughout college, but neither seemed destined to own a shop of their own.
Guidry-Callais is the elder of the sisters and got her first taste in children’s boutiques while in cosmetology school.
She later graduated and opened her own salon in South Lafourche – a career Guidry-Callais thought she would have for a while.
But while pregnant for her first child, fate intervened.
During that pregnancy, doctors told the soon-to-be mother that she needed to stop working. When she gave birth, Guidry-Callais realized that she didn’t want to get back into cosmetology and wanted to pursue other endeavors.
While this was going on, Guidry-Danos was working at a children’s boutique in Baton Rouge while attending Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton Rouge.
After a little thought, the sisters decided to team up.
When they did, Lil’ Sweet Pea’s Boutique was born – originally in a location in Galliano.
“With no place to buy quality clothes for babies and children on the bayou, and an empty beauty salon at our disposal, we decided to open a children’s boutique of our own,” Guidry-Danos said.
From their earliest days in business, Lil’ Sweet Pea’s Boutique has been a hit.
The store quickly outgrew the salon location in Galliano, which forced the business owners to move to its current location on 17020 West Main St., in Cut Off.
The boutique is a one-stop shop for mothers who are looking to outfit both boys and girls of a range of ages.
“For boys, we start in preemie and go up to 4T, and in girls, we also start in preemie and go up to size 16,” Guidry-Danos said. “We sell shoes, socks, bows, toys, diaper bags and a nice selection of accessories and gifts.
“We also offer a variety of clothing styles from traditional smocking to the latest trends in children’s fashion.”
The store owners also said that they have recently started dabbling in maternity clothing and nursing items.
They store offers parents the ability to order dresses for young flower girls, as well as communion and christening gowns.
The boutique also has a commercial embroidery machine that offers personal and corporate monogramming.
Guidry-Danos said the most common items sold at Lil’ Sweet Pea’s Boutique are clothing for newborns, as well as the store’s unique hair bows.
“Our bows are very distinctive and high quality,” she said. “We sell bows for girls from newborn all the way to high school.”
Because of the store’s success in Cut Off, Guidry-Danos said Lil’ Sweet Pea had an opportunity last year to expand its business to Houma.
The store owners said it was a decision that required a lot of thought and prayer. But they ultimately decided to dive into the new market at the Corporate Drive location – a move that was completed in September 2012.
“Our Houma location is doing well,” Guidry-Danos said. “It was a tough decision to expand, but the opportunity was in our hands and we took it.
“We enjoy offering the same quality in both stores.”
So with the second location in hand, Lil’ Sweet Pea Boutique continues to move into the future.
The sisters said that they will continue to take pride in being able to provide quality at a fair price to mothers who are looking for the best in children’s attire.
“We want to continue to offer the highest quality and latest fashions for children at both of our stores,” Guidry-Danos said. “We aim to have great customer service and products that our customers request.”
The business owners also said they wanted to encourage customers to follow Lil’ Sweet Pea’s Boutique on Facebook and Instagram for the latest offerings within the business.
For exclusive updates, customers can also text SWEET to 57711.
Business owners and sister Valerie Guidry-Callais (left) and Kayla Guidry-Danos pose inside of Lil’ Sweet Pea’s Boutique. Open for more than five years, the Cut Off-based business has recently expanded to now include a second storefront in Houma.
