The Knockabouts Clothing Boutique strives to deliver a fun, personalized shopping experience to everyone who enters its doors. The store is located for all to check out at 76 Main Street in Carman.
For Jessica Knaggs, owning a boutique has been a dream since she attended fashion college in 2010. Former Knockabouts owner Karen Rempel, who started the business in 1980, sold the store to Knaggs and her husband Garry in 2020.
Before having kids, she worked as an associate buyer for the Ricki’s chain of stores. She then worked at Knockabouts in 2008 and 2009, then returned in the fall of 2015, before buying the store.
Since buying the store in 2020, Knaggs has enjoyed everything that goes into owning a clothing boutique store.
“I love the creative aspects of this job, building displays, styling outfits for customers as well as our window mannequins, creating content for our social media channels,” said Jessica Knaggs. “I have a lot of behind-the-scenes computer work to do and don’t always have a lot of time to put into the creative jobs. Thankfully, I work with a great team of ladies who also enjoy those creative jobs and do an amazing job of keeping the storefront fresh and running smoothly.”
“I also really enjoy the buying process and put a lot of time and effort into trying things on, picking fabrics that feel nice and ensuring we have pieces that will coordinate with one another. We book at least six months in advance, so it’s both fun and challenging to build a collection of items you hope your customers will love that far ahead. Having a shop in a small town allows you to really get to know a lot of your customers. It’s the best feeling when we’ve picked something with someone in mind, and they love it as much as we hoped they would.”
The business itself has been a rollercoaster since Knaggs first took over the shop in 2020. Navigating through the pandemic had a lot of challenges; however, during that time, there was a lot more focus on small and local shopping, and the store kept busy during those years.
“The retail market has changed a lot since the pandemic,” said Knaggs. “Rising costs on seemingly everything has made budgets tighter and the cost of doing business higher. During the pandemic, there was a huge push for retailers to establish a greater online presence, and we saw a rise in influencer marketing. There is a lot more competition online and a lot of influencer marketing for large chain stores like Amazon. It is impossible for any small shop like mine to compete with Amazon’s marketing, pricing and sales. As a team, we’ve been working hard to provide a positive and valuable in-store experience and build relationships with our customers that hopefully make them want to keep coming back.”
The Knockabouts boutique store is known for being very active on social media, particularly on Instagram, where they post unique videos daily in hopes of engaging potential customers.
“We often have a lot of fun and laughs making reels for our social media channel. It takes a lot of time to film and edit each video. My goal in the coming months is to focus more energy into planning content ahead. I would like to post more behind-the-scenes day-to-day things on the stories as well as more content with value (for example, styling hacks and product spotlights/how-to’s). Engagement comes and goes. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, the algorithm changes, and you’re back to square one. The challenge can be frustrating, but it also keeps it fresh and exciting to adapt and create new content. We consistently have DMs with questions about products that we have shown on social media, as well as people inquiring in-store about things that they have seen online. Whether it results in an immediate sale or not, the more people who are exposed to our content, the better, and we are always happy to answer questions.”
Some of Knockabouts’ current best sellers include a line of jeans called “Kut,” which are designed in modern silhouettes with the comfort of stretch and a fabric that holds its shape well.
“Denim is one of the items that people are ok investing money into. A good pair of jeans is the foundation for limitless outfits, and many workplaces have become more casual, so a nice pair of jeans can be worn to the office.”
Knockabouts also sells a lot of jewelry from a Danish brand called “Pilgrim.” Their jewelry is hypoallergenic, and they create designs at a sharp price point, for everyone, that range from timeless basics to fashion-forward statement pieces.
In the men’s department, they sell a brand called “Tentree,” which is by far their best-selling line. Their pieces are sustainably created and made in really soft, quality fabric. The company will also plant ten trees for every item purchased, which is a great initiative.
Moving forward into the fall, Knockabouts will be launching “Smartwool” socks and the infamous leather finger mitts (a hockey rink staple).
Knockabouts is currently clearing out its spring/summer Dex brand products at 50% off. All other summer items have been marked down 30-40% off. So, now is a great time to grab some summer items at a good price for winter vacationing. The store is also starting to release new fall products onto the floor daily.
On Sept. 17, Knockabouts will host fit techs from French Dressing (FDJ), one of its denim brands. They will be on-site that day, with an exclusive supply of stock for the event and to do in-person fittings and style sessions.
Knockabouts will offer a special discount on FDJ products purchased that day, and everyone who attends will be entered into a draw to win a free pair of jeans. In addition, FDJ will donate $1 for every pair of jeans tried on during the event to Look Good Feel Better, an organization that has been helping women with cancer feel like themselves again.
Standard Photo by Jessica Knaggs
