Bullet Boots opens with a 'bling'

With the snip of the scissors the red ribbon was cut and champagne was symbolically uncorked to officially welcome Bullet Boots to The Shoppes at Lafayette.
Yee Haw.
Diana and Mary Petrovski always wanted to start a business together. Five months ago, their dream became a glittery reality with the opening of Bullet Boots in The Shoppes at Lafayette. On Saturday, the owners, family, friends and the community celebrated the Grand Opening with all due western-meets-bling-meets-classy-chic style.
Bullet Boots started over a dinner between the mother and daughter. Both loved the urban cowboy look, especially after having taken a trip to Nashville for Diana's 21st birthday. Entranced with the style, they queried how they could parley this passion into a business. The answer came when Mary ordered an Old Fashioned cocktail and asked for her favorite bourbon: Bullet. Diana ordered the same and they started talking.
“Everything just fell into place,” Mary said. “We said let's open a boot store and let's call it Bullet Boots after the name of the bourbon. We talked about ideas and concepts and before we knew it, we had a plan.”
Another piece of the puzzle leading to the specialty store was Diana's boots.
“I have a hard foot to fit, so when I found a pair of sparkling boots that did, I started wearing them a lot,” she said. “People at concerts especially would always ask me where I got my boots,” she said.
Though the owners hail from Essex County, they chose Sussex County for their location because they love the outdoors and country feel. Diana looked around the area, and when she discovered The Shoppes at Lafayette fell in love with the concept and lay out.
Bullet Boots opened on Dec. 7.
“It's a great and unique store,” said T. Love, Chairwoman of the Board of the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce.
Alan Henderson, the deputy mayor of Lafayette, added, “This is a pretty darn creative concept.”
“I have a new pair of boots, myself, and this store is doing great,” said Patti Singer, the manager of The Shoppes at Lafayette.
“Bullet Boots is a modern western-style boutique bringing the Wild West to the east for guys, gals, and little buckaroos,” Diana said. “It’s a special boutique where you can experience where fashion meets function and can expect to find some of the industries finest handmade western boot brands, western hats, steampunk hats motorcycle boots, western apparel, and other trend-setting styles.”
Diana, the primary owner, attributes the success of the business over the past five months to developing relationships with customers, carrying unique items and providing high class customer service. Her creativity has also been key in the way she arranges the store and such nuances as Saturday's cowhide balloons to perfectly set the scene.
The boutique also has a bridal section where brides to be and their wedding parties love to come to gussy up their style for a bachelorette party and/or the big day.
In the future, Bullet Boots is planning more kids' events and the expansion of their Cow Baby Corner which feature unique baby gifts. In keeping with this, they had mini horses at the Grand Opening and plan to bring them back for future events. They also set up a mini tea party in front of the store for Saturday's event.
Bullet Boots carries brands including: Corral, Ferrini, Free People, American Hatmakers, RuffleButts, and many others. The owners said that their rhinestone boots are very popular with the ladies these days as are Bullet Boots' short boots and apparel.