FLINT, Michigan—It’s cozy inside The Beauty Box. The small clothing boutique, tucked away off of Third Street in downtown Flint, is reminiscent of an old school parlor in the French Quarter.
Mya Adkisson giggles behind the counter with her little dog Mr. Nibbs, who is the first to greet people coming through the door. On a rainy spring day, Adkisson is working on custom shirts and sorting out handmade jewelry. Her green hazel eyes dart around the room.
“Every woman has had that experience,” Adkisson says, “where they’re out at a ball or a formal event and someone walks in with the same dress on.”
She glints a deadpan grimace, and a laugh. Mr. Nibbs chimes in agreement. “That’s going to throw off your whole night!”
The teacher, author, boutique owner, designer, and jewelry maker is a bit of tour-de-force. Moving around the small store, like a colorful wind of smiles and motion.
“The idea here is to have items that you can’t find anywhere else, but also it's a place to have fun and get ready for the party,” she says, shooting off silly grins as she moves between the small aisles.
Adkisson moved to Flint with her family in 1979 and she remembers fondly speciality shops throughout the city.
“We had plenty of options for getting dolled up—head to toe,” she says, striking a pose. “I’m trying to bring a bit of that feel back.”
Operating out of the Patterson building right off South Saginaw’s bricks for five years, Adkisson says, “we make sure to have something here for everyone. … The men love—really love—these feathered ties, because, of course, nearly no one else does.”
Adkisson says growing up, some of her fondest memories were going to visit her aunt’s boutique in Nashville, Tenn.
“I would always come down and visit with her and she’d have all these lovely clothes and tell me these stories about the people that came into her shop,” she smiles looking out at the rain. “I just remember that being so much fun.”
Beyond childhood memories, Adkisson says the impetus for opening the shop came from a very different compulsion: “I was bored,” she laughs.
After being diagnosed with Lupus in 1998 and not working for several years, she began to collect unique pieces and giving them away to friends. The feedback was overwhelming.
“So I kept up with it, and because I find it relaxing as a hobby, it just gives me a peace of mind,” she said. “I also like to see their faces when they put on a piece of mine they really like.”
Since starting the business, there have been ups and downs—but “as a purveyor of fine clothing and apparel,” Adkisson remains committed to providing one-of-a-kind finds in downtown Flint.
An all-around renaissance woman, Adkisson says she likes to give back, by making one of kind bracelets for Lupus patients, cancer patients and jewelry for charity sales. “We work with Cause Unknown, it’s a charity for diseases where there is no known cure, and we donate about 10 percent of our proceeds, from those bracelet sales, to the Lupus Foundation.”
Other handmade products beyond wine glasses, necklaces, broaches and earrings, are journals and greeting cards.
As Adkisson will tell you, writing is another one of her passions. “No two are alike,” she says. “I try to make sure there aren’t too many duplicates because, I like when I hear people say, ‘where can I find something like that?’ and get to say, ‘nope, you can’t, because that’s one of a kind’.”
She also makes sure there is a personal designer and tailor on hand from week-to-week.
“Most of my customers say I’m a fine, little, hidden gem,” she says and Mr. Nibbs, once again, chimes in loudly in agreement.
Beyond her work in Flint, Adkisson likes to participate in local and national fashion shows with one coming up in Saginaw this month and another in Atlanta in June. Asked where she finds the time to keep up with all her activities, Adkisson doesn’t waste a breath.
"Just don’t sleep,” she winks again.
Those wishing to find unique apparel can find Adkisson and Mr. Nibbs at The Beauty Box Boutique, located at 109 E. Third St., right across from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Flint. Open from noon to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays. Also, available online at
www.thebeautyboxboutique.org.