Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Le Pham. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Morning Lavender was started as an online women’s clothing boutique eight years ago in 2014 by Kim Le Pham, a former wedding photographer. We utilized on social media and pop-up shops to build brand awareness of our flattering and feminine clothing. Meeting our customers in real life and seeing the potential in in-person shopping gave us the confidence to open our first retail store in San Francisco, CA in 2016. Our first retail store was so successful that we decided to open another store closer to Kim Le’s hometown of Tustin, CA in 2018. Kim Le wanted to combine her two loves: clothing and coffee and found the perfect space to make this concept happen. Coming from a wedding background, Kim Le designed a space that was light, airy and simply beautiful to look at. From floral backdrops to crystal chandeliers and gold hardware – the interior design of our boutique-cafe concept has feminine accents that resemble our brand clothing style. The cafe features floral based drinks like our signature Lavender Latte and Rose Milk Tea. On the weekends, we do a modern, feminine take on afternoon high tea. Our menu includes delicate finger sandwiches, warm scones and dainty desserts all served with looseleaf teas and lavender mimosas. Our tea service has been very popular and we are usually booked out 3 months in advance. We love creating a sense of community here in Old Town Tustin and offering a warm, inviting space for people to gather and feel inspired.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The pandemic definitely was our most challenging time. We had to close our retail locations for several months. However, having both online and retail sales channels helped us survive and actually grow these last few years. We were also able to pivot and introduce new products to our customers like our Afternoon Tea Boxes which provides our popular tea menu to-go in a cute pink box.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Morning Lavender was created by wedding photographer and fashion blogger, Kim Le Pham who is inspired by all of the beauty and style that surrounds her. Each piece is curated by Kim Le herself to embody a woman who wants to look and feel feminine. We are proud to be a minority woman owned business with 90% of our team members identifying as women.
Our shop offers stylish dresses, tops, bottoms and accessories—all with a feminine flair and sophisticated style and at affordable prices. We buy limited quantities to ensure the freshness of our styles and constantly update our collection by finding styles that are flattering and fashionable.
In 2018, Kim Le opened Morning Lavender Boutique & Cafe in Tustin, CA with the vision of creating a warm and inviting space where people could come together and be inspired. Our unique boutique-cafe concept offers our feminine clothing and accessories, signature floral based drinks and a modern Afternoon Tea experience.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
With the Covid-19 crisis, we saw how valuable having multiple sales channels was. We strategized how to grow both our online and retail sales channels and now we are seeing our biggest growth in these areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.morninglavender.com
- Instagram: shopmorninglavender
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morninglavender
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Morninglavender
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/morning-lavender-cafe-tustin
- Other: https://www.morninglavendercafe.com/
