Debbie Caillier assists her daughter with growing boutique business

21 September 2023

In the late afternoon, the near-closing rush occupies Dear Hannah owner’s mother Debbie Caillier with faint voices coming from the fitting rooms and women chatting near the register. Caillier’s laugh is heard across the room by a mother interested in their new line of sweat sets for her gymnast daughter.

            Caillier strides to the front of the store to meet the woman. She explains that the new line was chosen by her daughter, the owner of the store. Smiles are exchanged as the two women rejoice in having such ambitious daughters.

“All Hannah wanted to do was have a retail store since she was little,” Debbie Caillier said, working the register.

Above the curtains of the fitting rooms, a dainty voice carries throughout the store. It is coming from a young brown-haired girl trying on an intricately-designed purple backless top to wear at her summer camp. The mother encourages her with a soothing voice telling her that it would be perfect for the opening and closing ceremonies of the camp.

            Caillier’s daughter dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur since she was a young girl, but she could not have started her multi-store business without the encouragement from her mother. Caillier encouraged her to own a retail store since her daughter fell in love with retail during her job at Juicy Couture as a teenager. Caillier is so proud of the multi-store business her daughter has built and is even more glad she gets to be a part of the store. Caillier’s presence at Dear Hannah gives it the charm that draws in so many customers each day. Caillier fills the store with motherly love which is shown in Dear Hannah’s customers.

            Debbie Caillier enjoys working alongside her daughter. She helps her daughter run the store and brings a motherly atmosphere to the shop.

Meeting new customers is Caillier’s favorite part about working at Dear Hannah, and she says the most difficult part of her job is hiring employees.

            “My favorite part is getting to meet new people every day who come through those doors,” Caillier said looking over at the entrance to the store.

Debbie Caillier assists at the register, with new design decisions, and takes care of the clothing. All of their clothing is picked out from local vendors or wholesale shops, or it is produced by their manufacturer. She likes to help her daughter create designs to suggest to the manufacturer.       

Suddenly, a cardboard box produces a ratchet scratching noise and Caillier attempts to rip open a new shipment. Grabbing for the scissors, so as not to cut herself, she holds them downwards and then jabs them through the box’s flaps and the stubborn packing tape. Immediately, the colors of pink and orange become blinding with reflecting jewels and glitter that bedazzled the freshly packed blouses. Feathers peek out from the corners of the flaps, and then, a beautiful powder blue tank top, with peacock feathers sticking from the ends of the cropped top, appears.

Employee Claudia Donjuan, 25, shuffles over to the demolished box with anticipation, as she contemplates which items she would like to keep aside to purchase with her employee discount.

Donjuan has worked at Dear Hannah for four years and has been an instrumental factor in the store’s continued success. She loves her job at Dear Hannah, but her favorite parts are her employee discount and when she gets to open the shipments of new clothing every day.

            “I love getting to see everything new before everybody else sees it,” Donjuan said. “It’s like Christmas here every single day.”

Donjaun remembers how Dear Hannah began and knows how important Cailier’s presence is to the store.

After working at Dear Hannah for nine years, Caillier has had a huge impact on her daughter’s store and its customers. She loved being involved because she wants to help her daughter’s company succeed and she enjoys assisting other mothers and daughters who shop in the store.

Dear Hannah is a special place where mothers and daughters bond over back-to-school shopping or birthday present shopping. It is a place where young girls feel confident to be their most feminine selves while being encouraged by their mothers to shine as brightly as they can.

Throughout her years at Dear Hannah, Caillier has watched many girls in the Highland Park area grow up, and it reminds her to watch her daughter continue growing in her business. Now, Caillier is assisting more in Dear Hannah as her daughter opens her newest store, Dear Hannah Prep, a similar boutique for younger customers, just around the corner from Dear Hannah. Caillier has been an instrumental part of her daughter’s stores since the opening of the first Dear Hannah in Hoboken, New Jersey. Serendipitously, the Dallas location became a reality after her daughter’s plane took a detour to Dallas nine years ago, and she spent a few hours touring around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, only to fall in love with it almost instantly. With hesitation to dive into opening another location so far from her first location, Debbie Caillier stepped in to help. Ever since the opening of the second Dear Hannah, the Dallas location has been a baby to both of them that they have raised together. Now, with her daughter’s business growing, Cailler is even more proud of her daughter’s success, and she plans to continue working with her daughter and assisting the mothers and daughters who shop at Dear Hannah. Caillier is a wonderful example of how motherhood transcends age or maturity. Motherhood does hold hack once a daughter becomes a certain age. Just like the continuous love that flows throughout the pink and blue walls of Dear Hannah, motherly love is unconditional and never-ending.

Sources:

Debbie Caillier: 469-291-7605

Hannah Caillier: 469-291-7605

Claudia Donjuan: 469-291-7605