Twiggies grows into a new space

In one sense, Twiggies hasn’t changed at all since moving across the street. The Old Town staple still offers the same home goods, Michigan-made trinkets and boutique-style clothing as before.

But in another sense, it’s like a brand-new store.

“We have more than double the space of our previous location,” owner Beth Herendeen said.

The impact of that extra room is clear from the moment a customer enters. If the first location was an exercise in making the most of a small space, the new location honors the store sign’s request to “please loiter.” The shop, which opened on June 28 during Lansing Pride, is Twiggies’ second location in Old Town following its move from DeWitt five years ago.

In some parts of the store, the difference is especially evident. There are three changing rooms, for instance, when there were previously none.

“We didn’t have a changing room in our old store, just a bathroom with a full-length mirror,” Herendeen said. “It was spacious and everything, but it was literally a bathroom.”

But even in the areas with no notable changes, merely adding more space has translated into higher sales for Herendeen, who said customers were previously unable to see some items.

“Everything in this store was in the previous location. It was just crammed in there,” she said. “People are happy with the expansion and being able to see everything, and it has transpired into higher sales for us.”

In particular, the clothing section, which offers “on-trend” items bought in small batches “so that you don’t see yourself coming and going on the street,” has seen increased sales. With customers’ newfound ability to meander through the expanded clothing area and disappear into a dressing room with multiple items, it’s easy to understand why.

One addition yet to come is a showcase of Twiggies’ other business in event rentals.

“We plan to expand our event rental business and have a display of that in our studio here,” Herendeen said. “We do a lot of event work, both local and throughout the state. We have extensive rental items for people to utilize. We do backdrops, fresh floral design, space design, all of that.”

It’s clear from talking to the longtime florist and designer that she’s still passionate about her work. Asked what excites her about the new space, she said she’s looking forward to decorating for the holidays — even though she only just finished setting up the new location.

“We always shine during fall through Christmas with the way we transform the store,” she said. “It’s very magical, shiny and pretty. And now we have floor jacks, which we’ve never had, so we can have trees in the middle of the store. And we have window space — doing our window displays has been really fun.”

The main outcome of Twiggies’ expansion is more space for customers to browse, hang out and chat. But it may still seem that the store has increased its offerings because “you can actually see the merchandise now,” Herendeen said.