Ambi Rae Boutique and Allure Beauty Bar will have their grand opening Saturday, Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., providing clothing and beauty to the community of Jones County.
Both businesses are located at 109 Atlanta Road in downtown Gray. Ambi Rae will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and every other Saturday. Allure will be open most mornings, and can be booked by appointment, too.
Amber Asbell, the owner of Ambi Rae Boutique, said she currently doesn’t live in Jones County, but her parents do. She said she lived in Jones County when she was 16 years old with her parents but has since moved away. She said her son plays baseball in the county, so she feels connected to Jones County through those ways.
“Jones County is very community oriented, and it’s small enough to still be a safe place,” she said. “It’s great to be in a community where the kids can just run around and be a little more carefree.”
She said she’s excited for the grand opening coming up and plans to give away 25 swag bags to the first 25 customers that day. She said Jane’s Asian Market will be selling food nearby that day.
“My husband is a paramedic, and I’m a nurse, so when my son was born I didn’t want to work at the hospital as much. I started an Etsy shop in 2016 due to that reason, and now it’s grown from there. We started Ambi Rae Boutique in 2020, and we sell online mainly. Since our daughter is going into 4K this year, we don’t need to be at home as much now, and we needed somewhere to store our inventory. Here we are now,” Asbell said.
The boutique owner said Ambi Rae is important for Jones County, because it brings a different style and different options to the county. She said she wants to make customers feel beautiful no matter what. She said she carries sizes from small to 3XL. She said she’s about making people feel better when they leave than when they walked in.
“Jones County is a great place to open the boutique, and we want to bring business to the downtown area. We want to make it a community and bring people together,” she said. “This business is about serving the community, not what the community can do for us.”
Asbell said she carries women’s clothing, a men’s line with soaps and beard oils, shoes, bath related items, drinkware, treats, bags, journals, calendars, and some youth sizes. She said she has items that are affordable for anyone, but she said she also has items that are priced a little higher.
“This is something different. That’s why I think people should shop here. I’ve built relationships with people by doing this business online, and I want people to feel comfortable when they come in. I want people to feel like family,” Asbell said.
Anndrea Lampkin, Allure Beauty Bar owner, said she’s lived in Jones County about three years now, and her children played baseball in Jones County before she even moved to the county, too.
“It’s definitely a safe community. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about my children as much,” she said. “In other places you don’t get that. I enjoy being a part of Jones County. I like knowing the people who live here.”
Lampkin said she and Asbell worked together at the ER, so they decided to do their business in the same place. She said they wanted to have a place where people could shop, but also get a treatment they have been wanting done. She said she wants people to leave feeling beautiful in every way.
She said people should do business with her, because it’s a place where people can come into Allure and feel comfortable. She said she is a nurse practitioner who has over six years of experience to provide her customers.
“I’m offering Botox, lip filler, chemical peels, skin care products, a weight loss program, and IV hydration,” Lampkin said. “I just want people to feel a little bit better in their skin and feel beautiful. We both want people to leave feeling beautiful about who they are.”
For more information about both businesses, visit https:// ambirae.com/store and https:// www.allurebeautybarofgray. com. To reach Ambi Rae staff, call 478-508-3909. To reach Allure staff, call 478-365-9681.
