After 20 years in corporate marketing, Kris Stevens lost her job.

“I cried for an hour, and then I said, ‘God, I have forced this career long enough; I’m going to start doing what I love and direct my steps; I’m going to listen to you.’”

The decision would eventually lead to opening Buffalo Seven, a clothing, accessories and decor boutique in downtown Georgetown.

Stevens began making items that she loved and would wear herself. She sold them at market days throughout Central Texas with success. Two years later when the owner of a retail store put the building up for sale, Stevens bought it.

“Never in my life did I say I wanted a boutique,” she said with a laugh. “But here we are.”

The reception was great, Stevens said, until the pandemic. She closed the shop March 17 and immediately began making face masks.

A lifelong seamstress, Stevens’ masks with cute prints were a hit at a time when it was hard to find even basic masks. After Spectrum News did a story on her entrepreneurial shift in business, orders came in by the hundreds.

“I was making face masks 12 hours a day for two and a half, three months,” she said. “But I could supply something people needed while also getting an income—I had essentially lost my job [when the boutique closed] and had my personal and business bills stacking up.”

Buffalo Seven reopened June 17, and Stevens said she has been delighted to see patrons and the store’s sense of community return.

“There’s a group of women that have become friends because of this place,” she said. “We used to [pre-pandemic] play bingo once a week, and gather after the holidays to drink champagne and talk and shop. My favorite thing about the store is watching the connections made here.”