McKenzie FleemanTwisted Sisters Boutique, owned and operated by sisters Deborah Cline and Becky Pritchett is located on Front Street in Historic Downtown Marietta, Ohio. The vision for Twisted Sisters started when the sisters saw “Air Chairs” at festivals. They talked to a vendor and began selling the chairs at Putnam Commons with only 250 square feet. A year later, they upgraded to 350 square feet and have kept expanding from there.
The Front Street location opened up in 2002 and the sisters began selling sweaters from Ecuador. The Ecuadorian sweaters were a success and Cline says that she still reaches for hers in the cold winter months, often. The sisters then began selling jewelry. They talked to sales representatives in Columbus, who helped them establish a solid foundation for the business.
“We like to shop, and we wanted to share that with others,” Cline said.
Twisted Sisters Boutique offers a large selection of local art and jewelry that are unique to their shop. One of the products that is unique to Twisted Sisters is the Reader West Virginia Dolls. Eileen O’Melay is the artist behind the handmade dolls, and a lot of work goes into getting all the details just right.
Eileen’s daughter, Laura O’Melay Slater, also has her wire jewelry for sale at Twisted Sisters Boutique. Each piece of Laura’s jewelry is uniquely hand crafted with intricate details. Slater’s jewelry is appealing to those who may not be a fan of traditional wire jewelry because of the vibrant stone colors and elaborate wire wrapping.
When searching for pieces to sell at their store, Becky and Deborah try to keep it local.
“Most of the stuff we sell in our store you can’t find on Amazon,” Cline said.
Twisted Sisters is home to other local artists’ products, including Sweet Gypsy Bath and Body and Painters Hollow Forged Iron and Metal Jewelry.
Twisted Sisters also has a selection of pottery that is featured at the Parkersburg Art Center.
Becky and Deborah are very excited about their doTERRA Essential Oils. They have a large selection available in the store, along with wearable jewelry that can infuse your skin with the essential oils. Recently, Twisted Sisters has started offering Essential Oil online classes that begin at 8 p.m. every Tuesday. If you have an interest or questions about the class, feel free to contact Twisted Sisters Boutique.
“We feel that through our store we can support local and regional artists, and that is important,” she said.
Twisted Sisters Boutique, along with some of the other downtown Marietta shops, is acting as a drop off center for items to be sent to the victims of the recent flooding in West Virginia.
“There is a warehouse location where the supplies are being stored, and truckloads are being taken to West Virginia,” Cline said.
She has talked to people who delivered the supplies, and they say that the conditions are horrendous.
Gathering supplies may be the easy part. The hard part is getting the supplies to the victims when their major roadways and bridges have been wiped out. Cline feels that it is a problem that deserves national attention.
If you would like to donate, Twisted Sisters has a list of needed supplies on their Facebook page.