Entrepreneur Sarah Baumbach with her husband, Adam, celebrate the ribbon cutting at Gracie Lou. Photo: Provided.

Shop the Gracie Lou store on the Alleghenies Marketplace

When Sarah Baumbach’s sister asked her to help decorate the nursery for her newborn son, she learned something: “I quickly found out that there were no children’s shops near Bedford – the closest one is more than 60 miles away! It was hard to find high-quality nursery décor.”

Baumbach has an art background, so she got to work handcrafting crib sheets and gender-neutral décor to create the ultimate nursery. Then, more people started asking her for help. Custom orders turned into a website, then popup shops. Today, she owns Gracie Lou, a children’s boutique in Downtown Bedford.

Baumbach said her successful progression to a storefront is a testament to strategically slow growth, the strength of Bedford’s ecosystem, and help from Startup Alleghenies’ Bedford County coach Jen Marsh. “Jen was able to connect me to the right organizations and poured a lot of excitement and knowledge into Gracie Lou. She really helped push my idea forward,” Baumbach said.

Read more about Gracie Lou here.

The chic interior of the Gracie Lou Boutique is inviting for even the youngest shoppers. Photo: Provided.

Startup Alleghenies helps startup and emerging small businesses succeed by providing free coaching to entrepreneurs in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties. To access personal, one-on-one support from a coach in your county, including guidance, resources, tools and networking opportunities, sign up at startupalleghenies.com.