The Owl Box, Tracy’s charming, mother/daughter-owned boutique, is a community staple known for unique, local treasures that make the perfect gifts for friends and family members. But after the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted brick and mortar shopping in March of 2020, co-owner Rachel Gabbert saw an opportunity to connect with her customers in a new way. She and her mother, Gail, quickly launched a new website and moved their inventory online. “It’s actually been a dream of ours for three or four years now, but it’s been on the back-burner because we’ve been focused on the [physical] shop. But then when everything happened last March, it just expedited the process,” Rachel shares.
Online, customers can select from a variety of fun items to curate an “Owl Box”—a beautifully hand-wrapped gift box—and ship directly to a loved one. “[The Owl Boxes] are fun little packages to send to someone you haven’t been able to see for a while,” Rachel explains. Among the plethora of goods in the online shop are the newly available Chalk Paint®️ by Annie Sloan products. The Owl Box is an exclusive vendor of the acclaimed paints and tools, which are perfect for crafty DIY projects. “That’s probably going to be one of our most popular items,” Rachel says. In addition to browsing online, guests are welcome to shop in the store (with masks and social distancing) or call to place an order.
While Rachel acknowledges that the process of designing the website and setting up online payment has been a learning curve, she is overjoyed by the community’s response to her and her mother’s new venture. “It was really humbling, honestly, to feel the support of the community so much. People just really embraced it,” Rachel expresses. “We’re trying to focus on sending people comfort, friendship, and hope.”
The Owl Box
131 W. 10th St., Tracy
(209) 830-0796
TheOwlBox.com