Bohemian Noire, a newly opened business in Williamsport’s Pajama Factory, has the intention of spreading self-love, self-improvement and well-being to the area.
Querida Lugo, the owner of Bohemian Noire, is originally from Williamsport.
She now lives outside of D.C., where she runs her other businesses, including her branding and marketing company, The Beloved Brand Company.
“I wanted to bring back some of the things that I’ve learned, running businesses in the DMV area. And bring back some of those novelty things — They emphasize a lot on self care. They’re very mindful of consumption and things like that. That has become part of my way of life. I wanted to bring an aspect of that back, contribute to my community and extend what I learned here,” Lugo said.
Some of the store’s products include meditation and self-care tools such as candles, bath salts, oils, sage, palo santo, crystals and more.
“Things coming organically from Earth that we can use. Rural Pennsylvania has these things and that I think there’s such a uniqueness — some people don’t realize the value of those things. I just want them to use those things and understand their value,” said Lugo.
Growing up in a rural area, Lugo has learned how to be creative when it comes to entrepreneurship. She said she hopes that Bohemian Noire will be a reflection of that as she encourages others to do the same.
“I do think that growing up here makes you utilize your imagination. You have to be creative. You see crafters here, you see people creatively use that outlet. So I think being passionate and driven, and having to tap into different things, to be very flexible and think on the spot,” Lugo said.
Providing diverse representation is another significant part of Bohemian Noire, and for The Beloved Brand Company.
“It was important to me to also see women of color, images more dominant in the space. It’s usually more dominant to see white people in these spaces. So you’ll see the cards are predominantly images of black people or, Latino people. To give acknowledgement, we are here and present. And we want you to have as much access to greeting cards that look like you. That’s important to see yourself,” Lugo said.
The store also offers a variety of accessories and attire, some of which have inspirational phrases on them.
“We have items that have slogans of encouragement that require you to just stop to think and to pour into yourself,” Lugo said.
Bohemian Noire inventory can be found online at https://www.bohemiannoire.shop. They can also be found on Facebook, where open shop days are announced.
