If you’re one of the many shoppers who seriously hate being mobbed by pushy sales associates upon entering a store — or conversely, one who dislikes being totally ignored because sales reps are too busy to breathe — then you’re going to love Luxe Apothetique.
You see, assuming that this little boutique’s complimentary chocolate chip cookies and champagne don’t immediately sweep you off your feet, we’re pretty sure that even your cold, cold heart will melt when you hear about Luxe’s gracious and dignifying approach to customer service:
Emily Chapman, General Manager and Buyer at Luxe Apothetique.
“We want to treat every customer the same as we would treat a friend coming into our home,” said Emily Chapman, Luxe’s General Manager and Buyer. “We go above and beyond for every customer and give them our honest opinions on products and clothes instead of trying to sell them something. We want people to trust us [and then] we want to honor that trust… and say, ‘Hey, I’m recognizing that you’re a human being and you’re recognizing that too. Let’s build a relationship here,’ rather than treating people like transactions.”
Founded in 2002, Luxe Apothetique is an upscale women’s fashion boutique and apothecary mixed into one. Luxe maintains two different shops — one at The Domain and one on W 2nd St — and boasts three independent sister stores throughout town, each of which appeal to a different customer base: Beauty Store Salon & Spa, Blue Elephant, and A-Town.
As a locally-owned and operated company itself, Luxe is firmly committed to supporting other Austin businesses by consistently partnering with local models, food vendors, and musicians to host in-store events, and by selling homegrown brands in addition to popular non-local lines like BB Dakota, Marc Jacobs, and Bumble and Bumble.
Local brands represented in Luxe’s inventory include Nation LTD, Little Minnow, and Welcome Wagon. You’ll also find art prints and jewelry created by Austin-based artists Rebekah Vineyard, Leah Duncan, Kendra Scott, and Antiquaria Design Studio at Luxe, and as far as gifting goes, Luxe has their hometown bases covered with South Austin Gallery and Plaid Pigeon products.
You know those Austin mural coasters and those funny little dinosaur planters for succulents (see below)? Yep, you can get ’em at Luxe.
“It’s really great working for a locally owned store,” said Chapman, a UT alum who has been an Austinite since 2001. “I think that’s what I enjoy the most about it – that atmosphere and being a part of something really unique that you can have an impact on things more so than a bigger corporation.”
Now that you’ve undoubtedly penciled a shopping date to Luxe into your planner, you need to know one more thing about this operation — how to pronounce the name. Don’t try to slur some French pronunciation for “Luxe” and make yourself look silly.
“We’re from Texas,” Chapman advises. “It’s LUHCKS, y’all.”
Luxe Apothetique’s tower of Austin– namely, champagne, and cookies, dinosaur planters, mugs, and drink coasters!
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All story photos: Rebecca L. Bennett, Brave Bird Photography
Featured photo: Emily Chapman (LEFT), Nell Smith (MIDDLE), and Tessa Parsons (RIGHT).
