Bowrific Boutique Outfits The Park In Sports Hair Accessories

By Meredith Thompson

Since she was just 3 years old, Serena Andrews and her business partner and mother, Jeanne Vance, have been deeply involved in the sparkly world of cheerleading. Professionally, they teamed up to put on cheer competitions years ago before delving into the vending side of things. In January of 2011, the crafty duo began making and selling hair bows and accessories at cheerleading competitions. They quickly outgrew their home-based operation, and in July celebrated the grand opening of their Severna Park storefront, Bowrific Boutique.

“My 12-year-old son came up with our name,” Andrews laughed. “My mom and I were sitting in the car one day throwing out names, and he said, ‘How about Bowrific?’ I’m not sure where it came from, but it stuck!”

In addition to cheerleading bows, Bowrific offers hair accessories for girls’ lacrosse, field hockey, volleyball, soccer and softball. They carry headbands and flower clips for babies, and even specialize in custom wedding combs and veil headbands. Seasonally, they sport NFL keychain bows, pink breast-cancer-awareness products and holiday-themed items.

Perhaps their most exciting offering for young girls and teens, Bowrific hosts bowtastic birthday parties. Each guest receives a customized bow based on the theme of the party in addition to making three of their own between engulfing specialty birthday cupcakes.

Glitter and ribbons aside, the boutique’s staff of eight are dedicated to giving back to their hometown. Andrews explained they help local sports teams and programs find venues, coach at events, and provide consulting. “We want to be a partner to the teams outside their hair bows and use our knowledge to help them grow,” she illustrated.

Likewise, they are committed to the success of neighboring businesses. “The people in Severna Park who have a local business try to support each other, and I love that feeling of teamwork,” Andrews smiled. “We’ve felt very welcomed from the day we opened our door.”

As Bowrific grows headband by flower clip, Andrews will continue to be innovative in the hair accessory market. This fall, the boutique will offer Mommy-and-Me workshops during which mother-daughter duos can make hair accessories and learn to use them in different styles. Bowrific will also mail newsletters to sports teams that detail different ways of wearing hair products on game day.

“Our goal is not to grow out of our building, but to grow our partnerships and relationships with our customers and help them,” Andrews added.

Bowrific Boutique is located at 504 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., and is open Tuesday-Friday from 1:00-8:00pm and Saturdays 9:00am-3:00pm. For more information, call 410-544-2544 or email info@bowrificonline.com.

“We’re very hands-on with all of our clients, and try to match the color of their uniform or dress,” Andrews highlighted. “It excites us to make them happy, and it’s really rewarding to make something they truly love, cherish and will keep forever.”