Boutique stays in fashion

Owner plans to open second store in spring



A BOND LIKE NO OTHER- Beau-Alexis Franklin, owner of Beau-Alexis Boutique, left, said her father, Jeff Franklin, inspired her to open the Camarillo clothing store three years ago.

A BOND LIKE NO OTHER- Beau-Alexis Franklin, owner of Beau-Alexis Boutique, left, said her father, Jeff Franklin, inspired her to open the Camarillo clothing store three years ago.

Wearing a multicolored dress she bought in Japan, Beau-Alexis Franklin sits at the table nearest to the counter at the Starbucks coffee shop on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.

The area is one of the world’s epicenters for fashion. And although Franklin has made her home in Los Angeles, Camarillo is the home for the 27year-old blond fashionista’s BeauAlexis Boutique, a store that specializes in women’s high-end clothing.

Since opening in 2004, the boutique has made a name for itself in Ventura County and will have a sister store opening in Newbury Park by the spring.

Franklin, a New York native, said she opened the boutique shortly after she learned her father, music producer Jeff Franklin, was diagnosed with cancer for a second time in 2002.

She opened the store on Las Posas Road to be sure he could see for himself her determination to make her own future.

Jeff Franklin, who co-owned Casablanca Records during the late 1970s, made a name for the label and himself by working with such artists as Kiss, Neil Young and Bob Seger.

Franklin said her father’s battle with cancer changed her life.

“My dad was sick with cancer twice,” Franklin said. “He was a bag of bones. He went from a size 48 waist to a size 31. I thought my world was over.”

But her father’s disease only served to motivate Franklin.

“My father encouraged me to start a store,” Franklin said. “My dad was so worried that he wouldn’t see my future, the rest of my life. I needed him to visually see me open the store so if he leaves this place he would see me be successful and do something.”

Franklin relied on her father’s advice when opening the boutique.

“(The boutique) is 10 feet wide by 70 feet long,” Franklin said. “It is hidden because I took my father’s advice and wanted to open small instead of open big in case it didn’t work, and I would be in over my head.”

Franklin started working in the fashion industry at the age of 15, managing a retail clothing store in Malibu. She quickly learned she wanted to work for herself.

Nine years later, she turned her dream into a reality.

“He is very proud of me,” she said of her father, who has since fully recovered from his cancer.

Franklin said she loves owning her own business and has a passion for the clothes she sells.

“I have a purity about this store,” she said. “I am not there just to make money or sell clothes. In reality, it’s not about the money; it’s about the experience.”

Franklin makes sure that the boutique features clothing, shoes, handbags and other popular items.

“We have everything,” Alexis said. “It’s an everything store. . . . I cater pretty much to 16 to 65. I believe I have something for everyone, whether it’s a $9 keychain or a $300 purse. It’s a goal to have something.”

She often walks around the store in bare feet, offering her customers some water or a little fashion advice.

“I love my clientele,” Franklin said. “My customers are amazing. I am so blessed because I came to Camarillo and brought the energy and the funk.”

Beau-Alexis Boutique, 2460C Las Posas Road, is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call (805) 383-7860.