Courtesy Holliday
If good things come in threes, then the opening of a new retail shop on the 4000 block of Olive Street is no exception. Holliday, at 4600 Olive, will join Bowood Farms and Café Osage as the latest venture from the McPheeters family.
Gifts, housewares, and apparel items previously sold across the street at Bowood Farms will now be sold at the new location.
“Our business has evolved over the years and customers were asking for more linens and clothing,” says owner Katherine McPheeters. “The Bowood space didn’t lend itself to that—it just has a different vibe with all of the plants. It feels more like a greenhouse. We wanted to create a unique spot and brand for these other products.”
The McPheeters’ owned the vacant building across from Bowood, but took their time to figure out how to develop it for maximum impact. “We bought the building a while ago but weren’t quite sure how to use it. We had a few ideas, but when the gifting business began to take off at Bowood, the end use became clear,” says McPheeters.
(Holliday is named for McPheeters' great-grandmother, Ida Holliday. She and her husband, Charles Bascom, bought the original Bowood Farms in Clarksville, Missouri, in the 1930s.)
During the year-long renovation of the building, McPheeters added a vestibule and a parking lot. She covered the floors in black tile, plastered the walls in a muted salmon shade, and added large wooden windows (some of which were salvaged from the Schlafly Tap Room) to allow for more natural light.
Transforming the space was an exciting undertaking, but also a labor of love. McPheeters grappled to get the details “just right,” like the vintage wooden fixtures, which took months of scouring estate sales and vintage shops to find.
While Holliday carries many of the same brands that were originally sold at Bowood, the new space allows the team to buy an expanded inventory of items from its vendors. New brands are also being introduced, like clothing labels Matta and Mirth and candles from the Brooklyn Candle Company.
McPheeters takes her time to source items that are unique and unlikely to be found at other shops around town. She buys greeting cards, clothing, pillows, candles and home décor that reflect her penchant for calm, muted colors and natural fabrics.
“I guess you could say I decorated the store as I would decorate my home, and I bought clothing for the way I like to dress. It has a vintage, collected, layered feel,” she says.
Holliday is open Mon.-Wed., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thurs.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
