Who would have thought that the world of NASCAR could influence Mooresville’s designer fashion offerings? But that’s what happened when Sherry Pollex combined her love of fashion with her feeling that a need was not being met in the Lake Norman market.

The daughter of Greg Pollex, who owns PPC Racing, she worked in NASCAR in public relations before giving up her job to travel with boyfriend Martin Truex Jr., a NASCAR Nextel Series driver. Those travels took her all over the country, showing her what she felt Charlotte and especially the Lake Norman area lacked in terms of fashion. Moreover, Pollex was struck by how many NASCAR drivers lived in the Lake Norman area and yet their wives and girlfriends were traveling long distances to shop or were making clothing purchases over the phone. She decided she could fill a void by opening a boutique in the Mooresville area.

“I have wanted to open a store since I was little,” recalls Pollex, who went online in February to learn how to write a business plan and then moved quickly to open Lavendar Boutique on Aug. 1 in the Mooresville Town Square shopping center off Williamson Road.

“My vision is to carry one-of-a-kind designer labels that are not carried in a 45-mile radius,” she says. “We’re an

upscale, designer boutique with an emphasis on customer service. We offer wine, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. It is meant to be a full experience. It is a unique store for local people.”

Labels at the boutique, which emphasizes denim clothing, include Rebecca Taylor, Ya Ya, Vince, Theory, Seven for All Mankind, Young Fabulous & Broke, Joe’s, Genetic, Diesl and People’s Liberation. In addition, Lavendar carries only one of each style and design so that shoppers can be certain that they won’t see their look duplicated all over town.

For the home
Pollex’s vision for a unique shopping experience in the Lake Norman area was shared by other women in the NASCAR world. Just steps away from Lavendar Boutique, shoppers can visit Sweet Grass to find a collection of home furnishings, accents, gifts and accessories. There they’ll be greeted by Carol Bickford, mother of NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Jeff Gordon; Deb Haskett, wife of Gene Haskett, a past president

of the Michigan Speedway, and Michelle Harris, an interior designer by trade. The store, which opened in late September, was born of friendship, near and far.

“Good friends of mine from college own two very successful stores in Michigan,” explains Haskett of how she, Harris and Bickford were inspired to open the store. “When they come to High Point for market, they stay with me. They kept saying, ‘You need to open a store here. Look at your demographics.’”

“This deal came out of a trusting friendship and relationship that the three of us have had over the past several years,” she adds.

With the Michigan store owners serving as consultants for the first 18 months, the women of Sweet Grass have filled the store with quality delights that are competitively priced. Lines include Norwalk Furniture, Granville Home Furnishings, Hillhouse Naturals, Grass Roots and Archipelago.

“Our philosophy is to always change up the floor,” says Bickford, who suggested the name for the store after a visit to Charleston. “There is a completely different inventory the second time a customer walks in. We order a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces so that you don’t have to buy something and worry that you are going to see it in your neighbor’s house.”

The friends have considered their strengths in dividing responsibilities at the store, with Haskett mostly addressing business issues, Bickford primarily catering to customers and Harris largely handling design.

“There is a mutual respect here, and so we have divided things up. We all have our lives, and so we’ll support each other,” Harris says.

For the memories
Friendship inspired another Mooresville store with a NASCAR connection. When Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, now the vice president and general manager of JR Motorsports, invited Wendy Childers, a former drag racer who met Elledge when they both worked at Action Motorsports, to a Creative Memories scrapbooking party, they thought they were only pursuing a shared hobby. Now that hobby has taken the tangible form of Scrap Shack, a full-service scrapbooking store on Charlotte Highway in Mooresville.

“We wanted it to be a destination where people could come in and find a happy place, and we wanted to bring new people into scrapbooking,” Childers says. “It is more than just a little hobby. You are preserving your memories, and you can show them off for years to come.”

Once they found a location, a former pet store that left them with surprises in the upfitting process, they had six weeks to paint walls, organize stock and decorate before opening. Wanting to use a tropical theme, the women brainstormed the name Scrap Shack and created a tiki hut over their register.

Childers manages the store on a daily basis and consults regularly with Elledge by e-mail and telephone. They offer a wide range of products and designers to accommodate their customers. They also offer crop events and classes. Not surprisingly, included in their offerings are NASCAR-themed products. When her schedule allows, Elledge works a weekly shift.

“Being here energizes me to want to do more scrapbooking. When I come in, it’s a release for me. I don’t think about anything else,” says Elledge, sister of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and daughter of the late Dale Earnhardt. She recently completed a brother/sister page for her scrapbook.

In fact, Elledge’s thoughts about scrapbooking in general reveal how all of these entrepreneurs feel about pursuing their professional dreams despite the high-speed nature of their NASCAR-influenced worlds.

“Remember why you are doing it. If you keep that in mind, you will do the right thing – it will be right for you.”

Want to Shop?
Visit Sweet Grass (704-663-5878) and Lavendar Boutique (704-663-2800) at the Mooresville Town Square on Williamson Road or online at www.thesweetgrasshome.com and www.lavendarboutique.com.

Visit Scrap Shack (704-663-0207) at 2785 Charlotte Highway in Mooresville and online at www.scrapshacknc.com.