For serial entrepreneurs, sometimes one business begets another. This was the case for longtime friends Heidi Koffman and Natasha Beal, who opened the secondhand/vintage shop Discover Mercantile in North Phoenix in spring 2024. While running a sale one weekend, “we had plus-size women come, and we had nothing for them,” Koffman says. “And Brian [Beal, co-owner and Natasha’s husband] and Natasha were like, ‘We’re going to fix that.’ And it became a room of plus-size clothes.”
That room blossomed into its own shop, Billie & Lulu’s, which is gradually taking over Discover Mercantile’s storefront. Named after Beal’s cat, Billie, and Koffman’s late dog, Lulu, it’s the only curated secondhand boutique for plus-size women in Maricopa County, and one of few such shops in the nation. Sizes run from 14/XL to 6X, with around 20 vendors offering new and like-new wares on top of Koffman and Beal’s selection. “It’s like shopping 21 closets in one place,” Beal says. “We start the store at 6X,” Koffman continues, describing the first racks shoppers encounter when they walk in. “We start it at an area where women who feel the most unseen can feel welcome and at home.”
That sense of belonging – and offering stylish clothes that “don’t feel like settling” – is key, says Beal, who goes to great lengths to source high-quality inventory in a variety of sizes. “Having a space where women can come in, they don’t feel judged and they feel like they have options – it’s a confidence boost,” she says. “They’re around other women who feel the same way… Every day we’re open, we get at least one woman who cries. It’s amazing.”
– Leah LeMoine
Billie & Lulu’s
11649 N. Cave Creek Rd., Phoenix
602-492-4797, billieandlulus.com
House of Aven
Phoenix fashion designer Aven Salei is reconnecting with her inner child one “very fun, very whimsical” garment at a time.
“I’m definitely designing for people who would like to restore their childhood or never really got to live out their childhood dreams,” the 22-year-old self-taught designer says. “There’s definitely been things that maybe I wanted as a kid but didn’t get to have, so I made them later on in life.”
Salei launched her couture clothing brand, House of Aven, at Phoenix Fashion Week last year. Inspired by fairytales and folklore, Salei’s fantastical designs tell stories of their own. Her latest collection draws from different elements of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, featuring 10 pieces inspired by mermaids, pixies and pirates. One dress evokes the opulent allure of buried treasure.
“I used a lot of gold, a lot of burgundy, different stones, jewelry and pearls,” she says.
Her 2026 collection will include 12 pieces that follow a Wild West, steampunk-inspired storyline.
“I really like things that don’t look like they should be possible, but somebody can wear it,” she says.
– Madison Rutherford
