Farmer's Daughter Moves To Town

MEGAN DAVIS/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Tracy Owen, a farmer's daughter and owner of a boutique by the same name, outgrew her "she-shed" and upgraded to a newly remodeled location in Anderson. The shop occupies a storefront at 102 W. Walnut Street and the showroom is packed with customizable country couture at an affordable price.
MEGAN DAVIS/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Tracy Owen, a farmer's daughter and owner of a boutique by the same name, outgrew her "she-shed" and upgraded to a newly remodeled location in Anderson. The shop occupies a storefront at 102 W. Walnut Street and the showroom is packed with customizable country couture at an affordable price.

Farmer's Daughter bloomed in 2018 and continues to grow in the new year. The local, country-chic boutique opened the doors to a first brick-and-mortar location in Anderson last month.

The owner, Tracy Owen, planted the business' roots four years ago when she began designing and selling custom shirts out of her "she-shed" -- a storage building for her projects. Originally designated as Owen's photography studio, the shed was repurposed as Owen sought a better printing material than vinyl but lacked the room for screen-printing equipment and ink.

Owen uses a heat transfer process known as dye-sublimation to apply customized images onto a variety of surfaces, including shirts, mugs and ceramic tiles. She has a portfolio filled with hundreds of designs but says she is not limited in possibilities.

"If it's on a T-shirt, I can do it," Owen said.

Owen said the hottest items at Farmer's Daughter this season have been a series of shirts paying homage to country music legend George Strait and a variety of shirts featuring Christmas, Santa and religious themes. She noted that Mustang designs and cow themes steadily sell as well, and there is no shortage of selection on the showroom floor.

Farmer's Daughter operates online as well as in-store. If a customer doesn't find what they're searching for in-store, they're encouraged to peruse MOFarmersDaughter on etsy.com to view hundreds of design options.

Once a design is selected, it can be printed within 15 minutes. This allows for same day satisfaction in a number of orders.

The business name, Farmer's Daughter, is near and dear to Owen's heart, as she is a farmer's daughter herself.

"I grew up on a 600-acre farm in Longview. I drove tractors, took care of chicken houses and worked in the field every summer," she said. "We grew fescue, ran cattle, harvested walnuts. Just about anything you can think of. I loved it."

After her father passed three years ago, Owen chose the name Farmer's Daughter as a tribute to him.

As soon as you enter the store, it's easy to see she came about the name honestly. The majority of the walls are covered in aged, reclaimed barn wood. The ceiling is highlighted by tin and rustic wooden beams. The stairs are lined with metal from a water trough.

One corner of the store is dedicated to Lady Bug Craft Boutique -- a children's fashion line out of Cassville that crafts custom bows, bibs and booties, among other products. Owen said she sought out a vendor for youth clothing due to the desert of local options.

"There's really not many places to buy kid's clothes in the area," she said. "And a children's line helps to bring moms and families in."

Owen hopes to see dress shirts, jeans and hats added to the Farmer's Daughter inventory in the coming year. She also plans to install a kiosk where customers can access the online shop to flip through and order designs, providing a more complete shopping experience.

Farmer's Daughter is located at 102 N. Walnut St. in Anderson. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday; from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday; from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Community on 01/10/2019