UT grad gives boot to drab look, opens Keys Country shop

SOUTH TAMPA — She has a degree in communications from the University of Tampa, but Kalen Keys decided when it came to her idea for a new business, she would be better off clamming up.

Keys graduated from UT in May 2008 and told her family she was looking for work. But what she really wanted to do was open a boutique.

"I had a year to put all my eggs in a basket and plan," Keys said. "I didn't tell my dad I was even doing it. I kept it a secret. Then I put together a 50-page business plan. I handed it to him and said, 'I have a job.' "

That job is president, CEO and chief boots-buffer of Keys Country, a new retail shop Keys opened in May at 1910 S Dale Mabry. The funky, Western-style boutique stands out among the shops in Carriage Trade Plaza, a strip center where boutiques trend more toward the preppy side.

The main attraction are the super-trendy cowboy boots, some colorful, some patent leather and some costing as much as $600 a pair. They've been fast sellers even in a down economy, Keys said.

"I just think Tampa needed it," she said. "There's no place (else) to get good funky boots."

Keys grew up outside Tarpon Springs on property big enough for a barn and some horses. The Berkeley Prep graduate thought the University of Alabama would be a good place to go country, but ultimately transferred back home to UT.

While in college, she became "obsessed" with fashion and accessories, she said. Her aim with Keys Country is to appeal to both fashion-conscious moms and their daughters, so the store is a mix of styles and prices (from somewhat upscale to very upscale). Shirts range from about $50 to $240 and jeans from about $80 to $400.

"I love to take something you'd never see together" and make it an outfit, Keys said. "That's why we say we're a shot of country and a shot of rock 'n' roll.' "

It's intimidating to open a store in a recession, she said, but "I thought it would be an easy way to ease into a business" and learn how to run a shop.

Hours at Keys Country are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 to 5 on Saturday. The store's Web site is keys country.com.

La Casita returns

For several years, Luz and Hernando Punto had a quirky shop on South MacDill Avenue called La Casita, with vintage furniture and accessories — many of them reworked — stacked high in a tiny space.

In 2007 they closed the shop and moved to a spacious warehouse in North Hyde Park, where they would have more room to repair and refinish the old furniture they love to collect.

The Puntos planned to reopened La Casita as a retail storefront this month, just a few blocks north of their old shop, in a space at 2408 S MacDill most recently occupied by Silver Sage Organic Boutique. Retailing is "in her blood," Hernando Punto said of his wife.

The new La Casita will be a bit more upscale than the last one, he said. The Puntos are keeping the warehouse and will rotate vintage pieces in and out of the shop. They specialize in upholstery work and applying faux and painted finishes to older wood furniture. The shop also will reupholster a customer's own furniture. Call (813) 313-8002 for more information.

Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394 or e-mail sharonlginn@yahoo.com.