Here’s a tour of five Forsyth boutiques and what they sell, from cowboy boots to gifts

As Forsyth’s downtown businesses grow, boutiques are a popular type of shop opening up around town. Here’s a road map of five Forsyth boutiques and their unique offerings.

Blue Morning Boutique

Blue Morning, located in Forsyth’s downtown square, is a good place to start a boutique shopping spree. The store offers colorful clothing with designs from classic rock and country artists including The Who, Willie Nelson and the store’s namesake, Dolly Parton.

“I named it after (Dolly Parton’s) song… it had such an effect on me, I’m really connected to it,” said store owner Jamie Kay Grubb, a Thomaston native. “I just heard about Forsyth and identified a market.”

The vibrant shop opened on the square in October and features colorful decorations to match the bright, patterned sweaters and retro shirts Grubb sells. She opened her store online in July, but when a physical storefront became available she jumped on the opportunity.

“I’m not a person who likes to work from home, the online store was working but it wasn’t me,” Grubb said. “I love when people come in and look at everything we have, I like to see reactions. So now we’re online and in-person.”

Grubb’s throwback ensembles make her store a unique one. The shop is located on Lee Street, near another boutique with a longer history.

CoTique Boutique

Just a short walk down Lee Street from Blue Morning sits CoTique, a store that opened in 2014 not as a boutique but as a consignment store. Owner Amy Knight, an Atlanta native who moved to Forsyth because her husband’s job in Upson County, opened the store because of a necessity.

“I actually opened the store because one of my kids needed a red shirt, and I couldn’t find a red shirt anywhere,” Knight said. “I don’t think we had a Walmart near here then, so I started taking inventory in 2013 and then opened it up.”

Knight didn’t mention how the quest for a red shirt ended up, but it was clear that her business venture paid off. The shop eventually started stocking new clothes in addition to consignment offerings and fully transitioned into a boutique in 2016.

“I noticed that the new was selling more and who was buying it, so we went to women and girls only after that, since we used to carry men’s (clothing) too,” Knight said. “Now we can have all different sizes for women’s clothing and a lot of different designs.”

Knight thinks her shop’s size inclusiveness helps it stand out, along with her status as a veteran and Black business owner.

B. Monroe

Just around the corner on Johnston Street shoppers can find the B. Monroe boutique, a name they might recognize from a different kind of business. Owner Nichole Brewer, a Forsyth native who moved to Macon, opened B. Monroe in Macon as a salon in 2008.

“The salon was a dream of mine, and in 2017 we started adding clothes and it became really popular,” Brewer said. “We eventually brought the boutique to our location on Bass Road and it was great, people loved it.”

The stores blossomed into boutiques, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to one store closing in 2020 and going online-only. When Brewer saw the storefront available in her hometown, she started the process of re-opening.

“I actually repurposed a barn into a warehouse at one point,” Brewer said. “When this opened up it really was perfect timing… it’s great to have a boutique separate from the salon.”

The Forsyth storefront, one of three B. Monroe locations including the salons in Macon and Warner Robins, opened last year. Brewer said it stands out thanks to her personal collection.

“We’re all humans and all have different styles, but I think I pick out clothes that I would have in my closet, so (the store) is really curated and has a style,” Brewer said. “I can also go pick out something from all the boutiques (in Forsyth) that I would wear, so we all have a unique style. That’s what I love about having a store here.”

Branded Starr

Further west on Johnston Street is Branded Starr, a boutique with one of the most themed experiences of the boutiques in Forsyth. Owner Brandi Starr offers a variety of western wear that takes inspiration from her family business.

“My family have been cattle farmers since the 1800s, so everyone in my family from my great grandfather to my son has done that,” Starr said. “That branched out into selling Western decor and eventually gear.”

Starr sold her supply at shows everywhere from Texas to Virginia over the past decade while living between Forsyth and Barnesville before opening in Forsyth in 2022 to be close to home. After being open for almost a year, Starr has seen her business grow.

“Everybody’s just so good about community here. We sell everything from Western decorations to boots and hats now, and it’s been fun to see people get into it,” she said. “Some people didn’t have anywhere to go and didn’t know where to buy this type of thing, so we brought it to them.”

Along with the unique clothing, Starr said her boutique stands out thanks to the historic building she bought for it, one she waited on for two years.

“This actually used to be a drugstore, the building has been here for a long time, I think almost 100 years,” she said. “We had to do a lot to sort of update it, you’ve never seen so much pegboard in your life. But it was worth it.”

Now the charming building holds a variety of horse-worthy gear. If you want to customize it, though, you’ll have to walk further down Johnston Street.

Hometown Boutique

The last stop on the Forsyth boutique tour is Hometown, a shop just past the intersection of Johnston and Jackson Street that specializes in customizing items along with standard boutique offerings.

“We’ve seen everything from horse saddles to dog collars, I think we embroidered an umbrella once,” said owner Paige Bryson, a Forsyth native. “If you bring it in, we will try to wrap our head around it and customize it.”

While Hometown has been open for four years, Bryson purchased the shop in April when the opportunity came for her to use her business degree.

“I wasn’t actively looking for something at the time, honestly, but it just kind of worked out. The price was right,” Bryson said. “We kept a lot of the same stock and kept up the embroidery that was here, and just saw good business.”

Bryson, who attended Mary Persons and has spent most of her life in town, said she’s enjoyed watching Forsyth grow.

“I think it’s great. It’s drawn in a lot of people and Forsyth has really grown,” she said of downtown Forsyth’s growth. “More people walking around and being here is great for the city.”

With each of Forsyth’s boutiques having a unique product to offer, a tour will hopefully have something for everyone.