The spirit of historic downtown Claremore has been changing as of late. We all remember several years ago when the area was a blend of antique shops (which are great) and empty spaces. That’s not the case these days. We still have a grand selection of antique stores, but the boutique movement is a strong one. The Burlap Closet is the newest business to join the ranks of Main Street Claremore.
Katrina Bickford Pope is a lifelong Claremore gal. She is a graduate of Sequoyah, and married her high school sweetheart 16 years ago. She spent several years as a loan officer for Bank of America, working long hours and unusual shifts. In the ensuing years, Katrina and Bobby had three children, MaKayla, Madi and Gavin. Juggling all those schedules wasn’t an easy one, so Katrina finally decided to pursue her dream of having her own boutique.
Katrina has always had a passion for fashion, and she said it’s not unusual for folks to stop her on the street and ask her where she got her dress, or to say “what a cute top!” “Love your boots!” She figures that if other people thinks she looks cute, then why not make a living at it? She began an online boutique about a year ago, and when Rusted Rabbit Resale moved out of its downtown location, Katrina jumped at the opportunity, especially when her husband said, “It’s you and fashion. You can’t fail. Just do it.”
She took possession of the keys on August 1, completely gutted and renovated the interior space, and hosted her Grand Opening event on August 29. If you have seen the inside before, you wouldn’t recognize it now. The new look is “urban country”, complete with crimson ceilings, wooden counters, and walls made from corrugated tin and barn wood. Like, from an actual barn. The whole feel is rustic yet modern, comfortable and fun.
The Burlap Closet specializes in fun and trendy casual wear, handbags, boots and jewelry. They carry women’s clothing up to 3x AND they have clothing for tween girls! Leggings and sparkles abound in the tween area. The boutique also has spirit wear, adorable tees to represent your favorite local high school: Claremore, Sequoyah, Verdigris and Oologah. For all you KD and Westbrook fans, Thunder gear is coming soon, just in time for basketball season.
Katrina isn’t set on carrying specific brands; instead, she chooses the designs that she likes. There are two rules that she insists on: all items must be quality, and it’s rare for an item to be priced more than $50.
The Burlap Closet is the only store in town to carry Love Crazy Designs, which are handmade jewelry and incredibly cute ball caps. Additionally, Calamity Jane’s Funk and Junk will be in stock soon, so that means even more super cute tanks, tees and accessories!
I asked Katrina about the origin of the name, and she laughed. She was a major planner of her nephew’s wedding recently, which had a burlap theme. Apparently she was seeing burlap for weeks, and thought it would be a great inspiration for the name of her dream. Thus, The Burlap Closet was born.
The Burlap Closet is located at 405 W. Will Rogers in historic downtown Claremore. The store is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10a – 4:30p. You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram to see all the latest merchandise and place orders. A website is in the works, and it’s going to be a good one. If you decide to try to check it out in the meantime, you might just score a discount code. If you’re more of the old-fashioned type, you can call the boutique at (918) 923-7277.
Stop by The Burlap Closet and take a look. Keep it local, Claremore.
-MCM Staffer Ashley,
who has already created a wish list
