Less than a year ago, Kyla Murphy-Miller opened Tipsy Tulip in a small duplex house in Elgin. Recently she relocated to a new storefront, at 22 N. Eighth Ave., with more room to display her eclectic inventory, as shown here on Friday, April 14, 2023.

ELGIN — It’s a catchy name for a boutique, Tipsy Tulip, and now it’s got a new location, 22 N. Eighth Ave., in the heart of Elgin’s merchant district.

Sole proprietor Kyla Murphy-Miller, a native of Reno, Nevada, had been operating Tipsy Tulip for less than a year in Elgin when she had an opportunity to gain more visibility and customers.

“I started the business in the middle of September last year at 150 S. Eighth Ave., in one side of a small (duplex) house. My business was a small, self-funded one,” Murphy-Miller said. “I moved to the new location at the beginning of April.”

She went from being an at-home crafter and gardener to an entrepreneur overnight. She wanted to see what she could make of it, and to her surprise, she’s been growing like tulips.

The new store provides additional square footage for her merchandise and placed her on the busiest corridor for travelers and tourists.

Murphy-Miller had noticed the store space had been empty for a long time, so she decided to relocate there. Now she has the store space organized with lots of boutique inventory, including women’s clothing, Western-style blankets and scarves, coffee cups, candles, wind chimes, select cards and “a little bit of everything,” she said.

She is slowly building up her merchandise, choosing her inventory from a wholesale website. Her merchandise is organized and presented neatly on shelves and racks for easy browsing.

“I try to have things that are different from other stores around here. That way there is some variety for people when they are shopping around,” Murphy-Miller said. “That includes Claeys Old Fashioned Hard Candies and flavorful coffee syrups too.”

She also offers Western apparel like wild rags and shirts for cowboys and cowgirls.

“I’ve got some shirts coming in, and I’ll be getting more because a lot of people here enjoy that kind of apparel,” Murphy-Miller said.

Her husband, Keith, a native of Joseph who moved with her to Elgin in 2016, enjoys woodworking and makes mirrors and wooden potholders. His work will be displayed and sold at Tipsy Tulip also.

Murphy-Miller said the name of her business would remind everyone of the first sign of spring coming on, so it seemed fitting that she opened her business at its new location during early spring.

As much as she loves flowers, her business is in fashion apparel, textiles and gift inventory, not flowers. Her intent has always been to find her own niche in the merchant community and not impose on anyone else’s market share.

She welcomes the public to come in to meet her and browse through her shop. “I do have gift certificates as an option for customers,” she said. “Otherwise, I accept cash and credit cards as payment on purchases.”