Breckenridge local Julia Wood has long had success with her online home decor business, Olivewood Designs. Nationally published magazines, including Country Living Magazine, have even featured the shop. It has even reached the top 2% businesses worldwide on Shopify, an international e-commerce platform that supports entrepreneurs.
Kelly Boyd has been a longtime fan of Olivewood Designs and Wood’s Western flare. The two first met in Arizona in 2011 and later reconnected in 2023 when Boyd opened Horseshoe Breck.
When Boyd opened her restaurant, which leans heavily into Colorado’s Western vibe, she knew some of Olivewood Designs’ pieces had to be featured.
“I messaged her, and I was like … ‘Do you have any horseshoe pieces that we could put up in the Horseshoe?’” Boyd said. “She brought me this fantastic piece that’s hanging in the Horseshoe now.”
Shortly after, Boyd reached out to Wood with another request. Boyd, who had just secured a great real estate deal with Horseshoe Breck, had finagled yet another one. She wanted to know if Wood wanted in on a deal that would get her a storefront, her first brick-and-mortar location, on North Main Street in Breckenridge.
The turnaround time between getting the offer and opening the establishment’s doors went in a flash — about a couple months.
Wood and Boyd’s shop, Lace and Lariat Boutique, had its opening day Friday, Nov. 24.
Lace and Lariat is a family affair. Wood’s daughter Natalie runs the shop full time as a manager.
Wood and Boyd’s shop was previously a real estate office and actually still had a glass office in the middle of it when they bought it. Instead of tearing down the office, the two knew exactly how they were going to utilize it and who was going to make that happen for them.
Wood found some vintage doors on Facebook Marketplace, and her husband Kevin built a bar out of them inside that corner office so that it could become a hat bar.
At the shop’s hat bar, customers can come in, customize a hat and walk out with it that day.
The shop has already booked dozens of hat orders, thanks to a soft launch of Lace and Lariat a few weeks back.
“People are really liking the hat bar and kind of bringing in their own creative aspect with it,” Natalie Wood said. “They walk out feeling like they created an art piece.”
Lace and Lariat also hosts hat parties, run by Natalie, in which up to eight to 12 people can book a private event to customize their own hats.
Wood further capitalized on her family ties by featuring merchandise from her husband’s friends’ company, Brixton. Brixton hats are featured in the hat bar, alongside other American-made hat vendors, and the company’s clothes are sold in the shop.
When it comes to the shop’s clothing selection, Boyd describes it as having an “indie Western vibe.”
The owner’s merchandising process involved them going to markets, particularly in Dallas, to check out national vendors. The two also heavily sourced merchandise from shopping at vintage and thrift shops.
“We did a lot of thrifting, vintageing, antiquing — all that stuff,” Julia Wood said. “So most of our pieces are fun. They have stories.”
Wood and Boyd want to make their shop affordable for locals and tourists alike.
“We really wanted it to be reasonably priced for the locals to be able to come and shop here, and so far they all have commented on that … especially with such nice pieces like sweaters and jackets,” Boyd said.
The shop’s hat bar operates just like a usual bar with a sliding scale from bottom- to top-shelf items. The hats themselves range from $100 to $200. With the cheapest option, the shopper gets to choose $30 worth of add-ons. The mid-level option, or “the Cadillac” comes with $45 worth of add-ons. The “top-shelf” option comes with $60 worth of add-ons.