SHREWSBURY: FASHION TOUCHES ON WHEELS

A customer checks out the merchandize at Call Me Leon’s event at the Lambs and Wolves Salon last month. Below, Lori Lane. (Photo by Rebecca Desfosse. Click to enlarge)

By REBECCA DESFOSSE

If you don’t feel like braving the stores this holiday season, Lori Lane of CallMeLeon will bring the store to you.

Lane’s mobile boutique offers clients an opportunity to host parties at their home or business and invite their friends over for any occasion – whether it’s a holiday party, a girl’s night out, or a birthday party. She brings the merchandise to your doorstep, sets it up and cleans up afterward.

Lane also always has showroom set up at her home in Shrewsbury for those who wish to stop by and browse.

On Black Friday, Lane set up her merchandise at Glen Goldbaum’s Lambs and Wolves Salon on Bridge Avenue in Red Bank for an event complete with sandwiches, snacks, and bottled water for her guests. Salon manager Heather Lubischer said that when Lane contacted them to host a party for her business, she didn’t hesitate to accept. “Lori has been our client for years and has become like family,” she said.

Lane, a resident of Shrewsbury for 18 years, launched the venture in June, choosing a name that she says is a playful allusion to the chameleon, “changing your mood one accessory at a time.”

So far, the response to the idea of a mobile accessories store has been “awesome,” she says, attributing this in part  to the current state of the economy, since changing up jewelry can give basic wardrobe pieces a new look and saves people from buying new outfits. She advises her clients to mix inexpensive pieces in with real jewelry to achieve an updated look without a costly ticket price.

Lane also believes part of the appeal comes from the parties themselves.

“Everyone loves to shop and socialize at the same time,” she said, adding that she never pressures her hosts to invite a lot of people or to have a lot of sales and instead prefers that the parties be easygoing and fun. Hosts get 10 percent of sales in free merchandise.

For merchandise, which includes jewelry, handbags, home décor items, and pet supplies, Lane said she searches for unique designers and pieces that you wouldn’t find anywhere else – such as laser-cut jewelry from New Orleans. She keeps her items “price friendly,” but focuses on finding good quality pieces. Lane also offers jewelry she makes herself.

Don’t expect to see a CallMeLeon storefront in the future. Lane says she prefers the mobile nature of her business and doesn’t plan on setting up a brick and mortar store. Besides, her mobile boutique offers her customers an alternative to crowded stores this holiday season, she said.