Liz Gregory, left, and Natalie Peck stand behind the counter of their new store, Sage Hens Boutique and Resale, Aug. 8, 2024, in downtown Pendleton.

PENDLETON — After a whirlwind month of cleaning and selecting pieces, Natalie Peck and Liz Gregory are ready to show Pendleton a different kind of vintage and secondhand store.

Peck and Gregory opened Sage Hens Boutique and Resale, 418 S. Main St., in late July. The pair were coworkers at another shop in town, they said, when they realized they shared a similar dream of running their own retail store. Soon after, both quit their jobs and dedicated themselves fully to their own business.

“Our whole goal is to be different than anybody else, (for it) to be easy to see the stuff, clean, (have) a variety of stuff,” Gregory said. “I’m the vintage country, she’s more the country farmhouse chic.”

The store, which carries a mix of new clothes, children’s clothing and toys, as well as secondhand clothing, jewelry and decor, has been open for about three weeks. Its official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was Aug. 15

“It’s been really positive,” Peck said of community reactions so far. “We’ve had a few business owners in and that’s been really positive, so we’re looking forward to our grand opening.”

Picking a style

Upon entering the long, somewhat narrow store, there are shelves with mugs and postcards depicting Western lifestyles. Further back is a jewelry counter and racks of clothes as well as home decor and wall signs. Gregory and Peck are even selling smaller furniture pieces, like the couch that sits nestled among the racks of clothes.

The second of three rooms in the boutique is the resale section — cowboy boots and hats as well as shirts are all displayed neatly.

“We want good stuff and not worn out, not dirty,” Gregory said. “Resale does really well in this town because people seem to like that, so that’s why we made sure we have a resale section of good merchandise.”

Peck said much of their inventory comes through careful selection at flea markets, garage or estate sales and other thrift stores across Oregon and Washington. The pair, who label themselves as “pickers,” go every week to keep their stock up. Peck said she and Gregory also contributed some of their own personal collections to either the decor or the resale section.

“A lot of the stuff we sell is the same (type of inventory as other shops),” Peck said. “I mean, we’re a small western town, right, so we can’t go too outside the norm. But most of them don’t have that vintage farmhouse decor (for sale).”

Fashioning their future

The women may have only opened a few weeks ago, but they’re already thinking of what’s to come. Gregory and Peck said they hope the Aug. 15 grand opening would encourage more people to visit, even if they don’t purchase anything.

“We’re a new business and we want to meet people,” Gregory said. “We want people to come and browse around.”

So far, the pair said many customers have been tourists driving through and stretching their legs on Main Street. But moving forward, Peck said, they hope to get more involved with the community, both its people and other businesses.

“We’re not a fly by night, we’re not here today and gone tomorrow,” Gregory said. “We plan to make our mark on this town.”

Although she and Peck have fun and are enjoying the process, she said it’s not a hobby for them, but a full time job that they hope will be successful for years to come. For now, Gregory and Peck are settling into their new roles running their own store and navigating what it means to rent a space and sell goods.

“We’re pretty satisfied with it. We keep adding and changing every day, and it’s been a challenge, and I like a challenge,” Gregory said. “It’s a dream come true.”