DOWNTOWN LEBANON is a vibrant place full of food, entertainment, and various locally-owned shops. Among those on the public square is Poppie’s Boutique, which recently celebrated 10 years of serving the Lebanon community. From a weekend job under a pop-up tent to a multi-storefront business, Poppie’s success has truly been a dream come true for owner Sarah Collins.
It all started in college as Collins used her hobby of fashion and making things to raise money for a mission trip. The trip fell through, but Collins had found a passion for handmade clothing and the community around small fairs and barn sales.
A temporary project became a weekend job — Collins taking her high school car and a 10-by-10 white tent to festivals.
“It was a super humble beginning,” Collins said. “That grew from a tent very quickly to a vintage Airstream camper. It was 24 feet long, [and I] spent my entire life savings on it. [I’m] pretty sure my family thought I had lost my mind, but that was my part-time job all through college — [taking] that Airstream camper around and selling clothes out of it.”
Not long after graduation, Collins made the decision to open her first storefront with her husband, her mother-in-law, and her sister-in-law as her first employees. The storefront was named “Poppie’s” after her grandfather, who Collins said was a fun, personable, loving human and a wise business owner.
“I heard so many stories at his funeral about how he took care of his employees and how he did so many things that went unnoticed that he may never get recognition for,” Collins said. “When I thought of the type of business owner that I wanted to be, I thought, ‘I can’t think of someone better to name it after than him.’”
As a full boutique, Poppie’s no longer sells only handmade clothing. Collins works hard to get as many locally handmade items as possible. It is reminiscent of those original days in the Airstream camper and supports other small businesses in the community.
Since that humble beginning, Poppie’s has exploded in popularity, with Collins adding another storefront in Cookeville and a thriving online business. None of it would have been possible without the amazing women under her leadership, as well as her husband, friends, and family, who encouraged and believed in her. After all, Collins said, she is only one woman and has only so many capabilities.
“The Lord has consistently sent us amazing people, and I would be a fool to not credit them,” Collins said. “They have been so loving and treated my shop with so much care, and they’ve believed in my dream enough to just be very, very precious stewards of their time with Poppie’s. So I would absolutely have nothing if it was not for them.”
Collins said the support of the small business community around Poppie’s has been just as much of a blessing and something that a lot of small businesses don’t get. Instead of competing, the businesses and boutiques around downtown Lebanon confide in and support each other.
“I think that we’ve all done a really good job of being comrades and showing the community a reflection of our own individual styles rather than trying to copy each other. So that has been the biggest blessing just to have that support,” Collins said. “I just admire all of my neighbors so much. We’ve all worked so hard — we’ve all kind of grown up together.”
Owning a business may be difficult at times, but Collins said she loves the support the community has given and the friends she has made through the boutique.
“It’s just become one of the biggest joys of my life to consider customers like family,” Collins said. “At the end of the day, if we weren’t reaching out to people and making connections, then it’s just selling clothes — and clothes are cute, and we need clothes to wear, but all of this is just extra. It’s the community aspect and the relationships that are made that will be a lasting impact.”
The culture of downtown Lebanon is certainly impacted by that mentality, and the community will certainly continue to flourish as long as businesses like Poppie’s Boutique exist to make those relationships a priority. GN
