‘The best thing we could have done’

Victoria Lester opened a tiny boutique in the Colombian city of Medellin at the age of 19.

Now, about 30 years later, she is reliving that experience with her husband and 26-year-old daughter with a relatively new and expanding store at the Riverchase Galleria.

Lester moved to the United States in the mid-1990s and came to the Birmingham area because of a cousin who was a Catholic priest here. Her daughter, Melissa Lopez, was 4 at the time and shared her mother’s eye for fashion.

Lopez was voted best dressed at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School and continued her love for fashion and jewelry when the family moved to Hoover. She graduated from Spain Park High School in 2010 and got her degree in merchandising from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business in 2016.

While she was in college, about five years ago, she and her mother and stepfather started a business called Brio. They made handcrafted jewelry and leather accessories such as wallets and cuffs, using leather from Colombia. Lopez’s stepfather, Mitch Lester, cuts the molds for the leather goods, and then she and her mom handstitch them.

They spent several years selling their goods in craft shows and artisan booths at places like Mt Laurel and the Moss Rock Festival at The Preserve and at markets in Atlanta and Chattanooga. 

They also started selling their jewelry and leather items by consignment at a couple of boutiques in the Riverchase Galleria.

Taking a leap

The Brio items were selling so well that Lopez and Lester approached mall management about starting their own store. So in April 2017, Lopez and her mom and stepdad opened a store called Luna by Brio in a 700-square-foot space between Starbucks and Von Maur.

“It was the best thing we could have done,” Lopez said. “It was very well-received.”

They noticed a lot of their customers were women in their 20s and 30s, who often were accompanied by their mothers, so they decided to add clothing to their merchandise lineup and offer styles to fit both the young ladies and the “chic grandmas,” Lopez said.

They sell a lot of Bohemian-style clothing that is loose-fitting and flattering to all shapes, she said.

Sales took off, and Galleria managers asked if they wanted a larger location. In April of this year, Luna by Brio moved three doors down into a 2,800-square-foot space formerly occupied by Harper Lane. It’s on the first floor of the Galleria near the food court, situated between Molly Green and Champs Sports, across from Michael Kors.

The new space has worked out great, Lopez said. They have a lot more room to spread out their merchandise in more appealing displays and now have six fitting rooms instead of one.

“Our customers have just been so excited for us,” Lopez said.

Best-sellers

Their top-selling items are the custom jewelry they make right there in the store. “We make jewelry every single day,” Lopez said. “Eighty percent of our jewelry is made here in house. We solder all the stones.”

They make only about three to six of the same-style jewelry pieces, she said. “I love it so everybody’s not wearing the same thing.”

Their second best-seller is the leather goods. They’ve added new items, such as backpacks, and can customize to meet their customers’ desires, Lopez said. They go to Colombia four times a year to buy the leather and make the goods either in their two-car garage basement or at the store, she said.

“It’s all handstitched and handcut,” she said. “And I love bringing that little bit of Colombian culture to Birmingham.”

Mike White, general manager of the Galleria, said it’s very unusual for the Galleria to have tenants who make their own merchandise right in the store. About 90 percent of tenants are national companies, and about 10 percent are locally-owned boutiques, he said.

Lopez said being around all the national chains has actually been a tremendous benefit for Luna by Brio. “It sets us apart,” she said.

And the custom work helps them build better connections with customers, Victoria Lester said. They like to know their customers’ names and try to treat everyone like family, she said. Because they come from different generations, they can relate to a variety of customers, she said. “It’s like you’re shopping with your girlfriends.”

Family business

It is very much a family business. Lopez and her mother are in the store almost every day, and her 21-year-old cousin, Manuela Molina, works there, too, and solders all the jewels. Her stepdad, while not in the store regularly because of his primary job, cuts the molds for the leather and helps out in many other ways.

The store is named after Lopez’s 13-year-old sister, Luna, who is a student at Berry Middle School, and they named the different handbag styles they make after members of the family as well.

Lopez said her mother provides a lot of vision and encouragement, while she keeps up with the latest fashion trends and helps build the business on social media. Lester said her daughter has a lot of fresh ideas and an open mind to try new things and is a perfectionist.

Lester said she has come a long way from her tiny store in Medellin and has loved opening this new store and expanding it.

“We are blessed,” she said. “I enjoy getting to work with my daughter and with my family. … Sometimes, I think it is a dream.”

Lopez, who glows when she talks about the store, said she is doing what she always wanted to do. “My whole life — it’s just been an obsession. I’m a collector of jewelry, and I love fashion,” she said. “Doing it with family makes it even better.”

White said Lopez and the Lesters have a really good business model. They have unique merchandise and a commitment to customer service, he said. “I could see them growing far past this property.”

Lopez said she could see that, too. In the next five years, she hopes they have a second store in Atlanta or maybe Tuscaloosa, she said.

In the meantime, she’s living her dream and feels like she’s fulfilling her mother’s dream at the same time, she said. “This is my baby. I love this.”

Luna by Brio

WHERE: Riverchase Galleria, first floor near food court

HOURS: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.

CALL: 730-9220

WEB: lunabybrio.com