Jennifer Silverberg
MOD, a chic and affordable fashion boutique, will be opening a third location on October 2 in Ellisville at 1352 Clarkson Clayton Center.
Owned by Marta Gaska and her daughters Lauren Gaska and Tania Rakel, the same trio that owns Marta’s Boutique, MOD opened its first location in Edwardsville, Ill. (871 Arbor Vitae, 618-659-9797) just more than a year ago in early 2013, followed by its second location in O'Fallon, Mo. (2307 Highway K, 636-272-1191) last November.
"Our new location will be next door to the original Marta's Boutique in Ellisville, which opened 30 years ago," says co-owner Lauren Gaska. "The stores are connected so you can shop at both places, but MOD will be very distinctive and will carry the same merchandise as our other locations."
One major draw for MOD is the affordability of its merchandise—nothing in the store costs more than $60 and jewelry starts at less than $10.
"Another unique thing about what we do is that we bring in a size run of an item, then once it's gone, we never repeat that item again," says Gaska. "Even if your friends are all shopping at MOD, they probably won't have the same thing."
And Ellisville is only the beginning of MOD's expansion. Next year, MOD will be opening two additional locations in Missouri, though Gaska says they haven't nailed down where in the state the next two will be.
To mark the opening of the Ellisville location, MOD will host a "Mom and Me" event in November to "celebrate the bond between mother and daughter," along with a joint Marta's and MOD boutique fashion show at the Ellisville location in October.
