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Mattie Coleman is a woman who loves her clothes.
Small in stature but big in character, Coleman's attire is a reflection of the things she sells. Wearing a dress adorned with horizontal lines of colored sequins, it's apparent that the variety of clothes available in her store stem from the owner's varying taste.
As shoppers enter the Town Boutique, the store she has owned for over 40 years, they must navigate through the forest of dresses, suit coats, hats and pretty much any article of clothing imaginable that is placed around the store. Stacks of long dresses, suit coats and T-shirts reach the ceiling while custom-made hats, resembling those worn at the Kentucky Derby, accompany rows of high heels and flats on the ground.
Located on Walnut Street in downtown Muncie, the Town Boutique's eccentric interior is contrasted on the outside by a quiet decor.
Two folding tables resting on either side of the entrance have men's tennis shoes on them. The store has big windows that promote window-shopping for those who walk by. The variety of items on display in front of the windows, from women's fur coats to men's T-shirts with President Obama graphics on them, ensures that there is always something to catch the eye of a passerby.
"My favorite things in the store are my men's suits," Coleman said, as she shows off a large 3-piece white suit with a long pleat down the back that she is preparing for one of her returning customers. "Do you know what color he's going to wear with this? Purple. He just left with his purple shoes and shirt. I like to coordinate people's clothing and tell them what to wear."
Coleman is the type of business owner who has an intimate relationship with most of her customers. After having a lengthy conversation with Coleman, Duane Harter, a long-time customer, leaves the store disappointed he couldn't find a suit for an upcoming wedding.
"Mattie is always really friendly and helpful," Harter said. "There was a suit in there I wanted, but I needed it steamed and ready by tomorrow. Mattie called all over looking for a dry cleaner that would do it in time. She's always trying to help out the customer."
Coleman has been helping some customers for years.
"I've been helping up to three generations of customers: them, their sons and now their grandsons," Coleman said.
Before selling clothes to customers and their grandchildren, Coleman sold cosmetics. She said once she became comfortable with that, she moved on to bigger, and in most cases, more extravagant things.
After creating the Town Boutique by selling clothes out of her home, it took Coleman 12 years before she made the move downtown.
"Ever since I was little I've liked two things: sewing and selling. I never saw a reason to do anything else," she said.
Originally from Memphis, Tenn., Coleman moved to Muncie with her husband and their five children — all of whom she put through college thanks to her drive to sew and sell clothes.
As she walks around the store showing off different items, it is easy to see that selling clothes is Coleman's passion.
"I always tell people that if you do what you love, then you can make it, even in these tough times today you can make it," she said. "If you like what you do, it's never work."
Being business savvy is as simple as being active and being involved in something that you care about, Coleman said.
"I always hear people say they're going into business and that they're going to borrow all this money to do so, but people don't seem to realize that you've got to pay that money back," Coleman said.
The part of Coleman's job that keeps her the busiest is traveling, she said. When she is not running her shop downtown, Coleman is traveling all over the country selling her clothes at trade shows, markets and even house calls where she shows off her newest items to friends or people who she knows will be interested. Last week, she took a trip to Memphis to put some items on display in a friend's home.
"People always look at me funny when I'm traveling because I've got five big suitcases I take with me full of coats, furs and lots of other stuff. I make more money traveling than I do setting up shop here in the store," she said. "I love traveling, but I'm not as young as I used to be, so I can't do it as often."
Coleman is preparing for another trip at the end of the month when she will head out to California via Greyhound bus.
As Town Boutique's only employee, when Coleman take a road trip, the boutique is closed until she returns.
Despite such a busy schedule, Coleman said she is still able to be actively involved in her children's lives.
"I never liked to idle when I was young, I always kept busy. Even with my job, I still found time to help my kids with their homework, and I was always there for them in whatever role they played in church," she said.
Coleman was recently nominated for Muncie's finest formal wear, an award she had never been nominated for previously and hopes to win. She attributes all of her successes to her faith and to her desire to sell what she loves.
"I've learned a lot over the years," she said. "I've put all my kids through college by doing what I love and I thank God for that."
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