Legacy is something that most people strive to create but seldom achieve. Often, people want to create a legacy for themselves, but there are others who strive to create a legacy for their family. For L. Renee, her grandparents left her with an intangible legacy that inspired her to create a brand, a testimony to everything they left with her. Her vision was realized with the establishment of Stewart Beauty and Barber Boutique.
Stewart Beauty and Barber Boutique is the only black, female-owned, inside-out, head-to-toe beauty salon in Gahanna, Ohia. L. Renee created her brand to become a one-stop shop for people’s inner and outer beauty needs. The boutique offers services that not only leave customers looking good on the outside but also feeling good on the inside. The brand pays tribute to L. Renee’s grandparents, Herman and Madge Stewart, who entrusted her with their legacy.
L. Renee’s boutique is run by seven family members who like to call themselves magicians (in honor of the late Madge Stewart) and five traveling beauty bosses who visit the boutique monthly. She strives to create a pre-pandemic, pre-internet fame, and old shop feel where everyone who enters instantly feels like they’ve been regulars since their childhood.
Stewart Boutique offers a range of services and products, all of which are natural, handmade, and crafted with a touch of “Madgeic.” The store prides itself as the community resource for health, wealth, and abundance in life, appearance, and legacy.
“Building this brand ensures that my family and the families of everyone that works there are positively impacted,” explained L. Renee. “When I originally thought of this idea, I envisioned students and a work-collaborative type of situation. While our brand has had to evolve and adapt due to COVID, we have come out with not only a plan to survive if and when this happens again, but for us to be able to give back with every person we interact with. That for me is what it’s all about, and what my grandmother would have wanted.”
Since its establishment, Stewart Boutique has been featured on Radio One and ABC 9. L. Renee also regularly contributes to Pretty Women Hustle Magazine. The boutique has also found itself featured on apps like In The Black VIP, which currently features 29 brick and mortar businesses in the Columbus area, and is expanding to include other markets and industries.
What makes Stewart Beauty and Barber Boutique so unique is its ability to offer so much in one place. L. Renee and her store take the health and well-being of the black community seriously, beaming with pride of what they managed to accomplish in a year’s time.
Although Stewart Beauty and Barber Boutique has already made an impact in the local scene, L. Renee foresees her brand expanding with multiple locations and different specialties that service areas that cater to certain segments of the hair industry. Additionally, she is looking to expand the boutique to the space next door in Gahanna to offer classes and courses for the community.
“I won’t reveal our secrets and new plans, but I will say this: this is not the last you have heard of the Stewart Boutique brand,” teased L. Renee. “Anything is possible with a little caffeine and willpower.”
Learn more about Stewart Boutique by visiting their official website.
