“There isn’t anything like it in the area,” Wiertzema said. “Customers have told us they’re happy we’re here, we’re local, and they don’t have to go downtown to find something like this.”
Ascot+Hart began as an online boutique about eight years ago after Coleman and Wiertzema connected on Instagram. They each had popular blogs of their own—Coleman’s was called “Golden Hart” and Wiertzema’s was called “Ascotfriday”—which started to gain more traction when they began posting about things they enjoyed from Target. They went on to create an account together dedicated to their Target finds.
“We knew we were kind of onto something,” Wiertzema said. “People were reacting to anything we posted about Target. The first night [we had the new account together] we got 10,000 followers.”
Targetdoesitagain, which now has nearly 1.5 million followers, gave Wiertzema and Coleman the following they needed to launch Ascot+Hart.
“We both had retail backgrounds so we thought, ‘Let’s open a shop that shares all the things we love with an audience that already looks to us for style advice,’ and the rest is history,” Coleman said.
The Ascot+Hart boutique in Richardson opened Nov. 22 and houses the company’s new warehouse, as well as its first storefront. Coleman said the store allows them to cater to customers who were wanting to shop in person rather than just online.
The store features new and vintage clothing, from jackets and T-shirts to hats and sunglasses as well as home decor and gifts. Wiertzema and Coleman said the inspiration for Ascot+Hart merchandise comes from what the two would wear or would like to own.
“It’s stuff that we would feel good wearing and not look like everyone else in,” Coleman said.
Wiertzema and Coleman said they may eventually want to expand, but are excited to focus on the Richardson store and meet their customers in person.
“Right now, I don’t want to lose the intimacy of being able to make each customer feel special when they walk in the door,” Wiertzema said.
Ascot+Hart
1002 N. Central Expressway, Ste. 351, Richardson
www.ascotandhart.com
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sun.
