25 Women-Owned Cincinnati Boutiques You Should Have Visited By Now

Lucca

126 W. Elder St., Findlay Market
Owner, designer and machinist Lindsey Estes specializes in creating laser-cut wood, natural gifts, supplies and décor. If you can etch it or laser-cut it into wood, paper or leather, she’s probably made it. Find alder wood greeting cards, Art Deco wood-framed mirrors and hanging ornaments to appease everyone from Fiona fans to people who want to put the Roebling Bridge on the tree.
Photo: Emily Palm

Handzy Shop + Studio

17 W. Pike St., Covington
Think bright colors, cute sayings and shopping ops for your BFFs. “Handzy Shop + Studio is a boutique with the cutest collection of clothes, accessories, stationery, gifts and more,” says owner co-Suzy Hinnefeld (with Brittney Braemer). “We are all about offering upbeat products that foster friendships and make people happy. In the studio, we design our signature line of stationery, which you can also find in the shop.”
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Casablanca Vintage

3944 Spring Grove Ave., Northside
This popular Northside vintage boutique features classic apparel and accessories from the 1800s to the 1990s. They also offer theater costuming, shoe repair and leather repair. The shop has been in business since the 1980s, but co-owners Ashley M. Beaufille Cook and Tim Willig bought the store in 2013 and have revived it to its former glory.
Photo: Kaitlyn Handel

Continuum

1407 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
This pink and plant-filled women’s clothing store and bazaar features a curated selection of items from independent artists, designers and makers. Owned by Ericka Leighton-Spradlin, the high-end concept shop has a playful sense of humor and an eye for contemporary silhouettes, with brands including No. 6, Cold Picnic and Paloma Wool and plenty of other covetable objects: locally made ceramic jewelry, minimalist fragrances, eco-friendly nail polishes, architectural footwear and indie publications.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

The Budding Florist

1817 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
Ellie Wilke offers fresh, locally sourced flowers and tropical plants in a Findlay Market-adjacent storefront. In her "about me" on the Budding Florist website, she says, “After graduating from UC's School of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning, I applied my degree toward more organic design elements — flowers and plants. I have a true passion for creating floral arrangements that are inspired by the inherent beauty of nature.”
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

The Native One

1421 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine; 326 Scott Blvd., Covington
Anna Steffen founded The Native One as a pop-up in 2017 when she was just 20 years old. The brick and mortar (and online) shops offer easy and affordable trend-based women’s fashion with cross-generational appeal. The stores are stuffed with everything from rompers and oversized outerwear to affordable statement footwear and lacy underpinnings. You’ll also find accessories, apothecary and home décor.
Photo: Emerson Swoger

The Rhined

1737 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
The Rhined is a tiny little cheese shop located across from Findlay Market. It’s great for grab-and-go goodies, offering a selection of jams, wines, cheese-themed cards and accessories like wooden cutting boards and fancy knives in addition to its generous display of cheeses. But the space also features about 11 indoor seats and a seasonal outdoor patio. Guests can choose from assorted cheese board options ($13) or choose from a variety of snacks like the fromage brule ($12). You can add charcuterie to your board if you so choose, although owner Stephanie Webster likes to remind that The Rhined is really about the cheese. Well, the cheese and wine.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Lane & Kate

1417 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
This Vine Street storefront offers a streamlined selection of high-quality, independently made jewelry using sustainably and ethically sourced stones. The pieces veer toward delicate, lovely and minimal with a nod toward the natural world.
Photo: Facebook/LaneandKate

Fern

6040 Hamilton Ave., North College Hill
Located in a converted College Hill gas station, Fern, owned by Megan Strasser, offers minimal, modern and nature-inspired items — and lots and lots of plants. Find a carefully edited selection of unique hand-thrown pottery, art, weavings and more, along with a curated assortment of beautiful, thriving greenery. Buy and learn how to care for all sorts of millennial-friendly houseplants, from a “Chinese Money” pilea peperomioides plant to a kokedama (aka string-wrapped moss ball) and fiddle-leaf figs.
Photo: Facebook/FernStudioCincinnati

Coda Co.

400 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue
This hip and crafty shop features maker-made products from upcycled and natural materials, like macrame wall hangings, coffee-bag pillows and bourbon barrel pub tables. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Kelti and Tanner Ziese, she is the softer side of the business, hand weaving macramé wall hangings out of cotton rope — organically attached to driftwood collected from the banks of the Ohio River — while he works with reclaimed bourbon barrels to create a variety of wood furniture and accessories.
Photo: Facebook/codacompany

Idlewild Woman

1230 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
This hip and cozy family-run business is a clothing and lifestyle destination that embraces the beauty and creativity of the modern woman. The ladies behind the shop include owners Julie Clark, a ceramicist; Jessica Murray, a graphic and handbag designer; and Tessa Clark, a DAAP graduate and fashion designer who competed on Project Runway. And with a pedigree like that, they deliver on well-made and well-curated apparel, accessories, alpaca throws and coveted high-end denim.
Photo: Facebook/IdlewildWoman

Queen City Alchemy

1808 Race St., Over-the-Rhine
Emily Little first launched her line of soaps and body products as “Little Organics,” with a focus on herbal medicine, informed and filtered through her Appalachian heritage. Now, a decade old, Little Organics is Queen City Alchemy, a high-end locally made holistic skincare line featuring soaps, serums, balms, deodorants and other botanicals crafted using non-toxic, compassionate and therapeutic ingredients. There are no dyes, no fillers, no parabens and no sulfates. The line is certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny and part of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics from the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. Find 40-some-odd products in the community-focused storefront near Findlay Market, which also carries a curated collection of pieces from other makers.
Photo: Facebook/QueenCityAlchemy

Rookwood Pottery

1920 Race St., Over-the-Rhine; 7875 Montgomery Road, Kenwood Towne Centre; 7135 Foundry Row, Liberty Center
Rookwood Pottery, currently owned by Marilyn Scripps, was the country’s first female-owned and operated large manufacturer. “Pioneering artist Maria Longworth-Nichols founded the studio in the Queen City over 130 years ago, building the business and laying the foundation for what Rookwood is today: a world-renowned artisanal ceramics company, operating in the heart of the Ohio River Valley,” says Sarah Ditlinger, Rookwood’s former marketing director. “From its 88,000-square-foot production facility, Rookwood builds upon its rich heritage, creating American-made, artisan-quality ceramic pottery and tile.”
Photo: Facebook/rookwoodco

HighStreet

1401 Reading Road, Pendleton
Local design/lifestyle store and studio HighStreet set up shop at the intersection of Over-the-Rhine, Pendleton and Mount Auburn in 2006. Co-founded by Leah Spurrier and Matt Knotts over a decade ago, the design hub has doubled in size, incorporating a furniture store and studio for commercial and residential design projects. While the shop boasts an impressive selection of eclectic interiors, hard-to-find magazines, men’s and women’s apparel and bath and body goods, its charm also comes from the owners’ ability to collect and curate exceptional curiosities. Spending time exploring the nooks and crannies of the shop is extremely rewarding. You may discover a bowl of antique prosthetic teeth, a stuffed jackalope head, vintage locks, 18th-century French mouthwash, an existential coloring book, beetle paperweights and other magical and macabre magnificence.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Sloane Boutique

1216 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
Founded in 2011 as one of Vine Street’s original revamped OTR anchors, this women’s clothing store offers items for the style-blogger set and more. In their own words, they “mix edgy styles with touches of modern-femininity, always with a foundation of quality and the idea that unique pieces can make getting dressed fun and personal.”
Photo: Facebook/SloaneBoutiqueOTR

Gumdrop

15 W. Pike St., Covington
This bright and colorful kids shop from the minds behind Handzy has all sorts of goodies. From school supplies and sleepwear to the best new toys and most adorable clothes and accessories for toddlers and newborns, there is cuteness tucked in every corner.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Hi-Bred Vintage

4041 Hamilton Ave., Northside
Founded by artist Shawna Maria in 2011, this Northside curated boutique features vintage clothing, jewelry, vinyl, housewares and curiosities.
Photo: Kaitlyn Handel

MiCA 12/v

1201 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
This boutique has been offering local and independently made crafts and homegoods in OTR since 2007. “We’re essentially a gift store, but we focus on local artists and indie makers,” says co-owner Carolyn Deininger. “We sell anything from clothing to jewelry to bags, ceramics, paper goods, baby gifts and all kinds of unique gifts with a local focus or made by indie artists that you won’t be able to find anywhere else.”
Photo: Paige Deglow

Knickers of Hyde Park

2726 Erie Ave., Hyde Park
Founded by Jenalyn Schneidel in 1999, this Hyde Park lingerie boutique offers a perfect mix of practical and pretty all while honoring its mission to make women feel confident and beautiful. Find daily-wear high-end brands like Betsey Johnson, Hanky Panky, Jonquil and Cosabella alongside some more risqué Knickers “after dark” bedroom play items like teddies, thigh highs and sensual accessories. Get fitted for a bra by one of their highly-trained staffers or browse a summer selection of bra-sized swimwear. Also offers a nice selection of plus-size products so every woman can feel sexy.
Photo: Brittany Thornton

TMBTITWI

6 W. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine
Helmed by a world-traveling art specialist, the clothing, homegoods and accessories at The Most Beautiful Thing in the World Is are fully eclectic. As the name suggests, the shop features German knitwear, Italian leather boots, French apothecary items and a gallerist’s nirvana of other modern and sculptural women’s wear.
Photo: Adam Doty