08/02/2026
Some dreams take 45 years.
So… what happened next?
Let’s rewind to March 2020.
COVID hit, and like so many people, everything came to a standstill. At the time I was working at Arktana here in Camas. When the shutdown happened, I suddenly found myself with time to think.
But here’s the thing…
Opening a shop wasn’t a new idea. It was a dream I’d carried with me since I was six years old.
During the shutdown, I realized if I didn’t try now, I might always wonder what could have been.
I went home, looked at Jeff, and said, “I think it’s finally time. I want to build something of my own.”
He looked at me like I was crazy. 😂
His response? “How? The whole world is shut down.”
I said, “I’ll start online.”
I had absolutely no idea how to build a website. I just had a vision. I started reaching out to artists and makers whose work I loved, asking if they’d trust me to carry their goods.
Some said yes.
A lot said no.
Some people laughed.
But every “no” made me even more determined.
Six months, countless tutorials, and plenty of frustration later… Poppy & Hawk went live online.
Then came 2021.
Jeff and I had already planned a summer trip to Vermont to see if it might be somewhere we’d want to live someday. Flights, hotels, rental car… everything was booked.
Then this little space in downtown Camas became available.
I looked at Jeff and said, “I think I’m going to take it.”
We canceled Vermont, and instead… we built Poppy & Hawk.
People often tell me how fun it must be to own a boutique. And it is. But what most people don’t see are the early mornings, late nights, weekends, and all the jobs behind the scenes.
The website.
The buying.
The photography.
The displays.
The bookkeeping.
The social media.
The cleaning.
The shipping.
Almost all of it has been me.
Would I do it all over again?
In a heartbeat.
Tomorrow we’ll get into the renovation… and let me tell you, it took a whole lot of paint, determination, family, and probably a little bit of stubbornness. 😂
