Breckenridge Boutique Brings Fashion, Function To Helmets
FRISCO, Colo. (AP) - Liz LaBelle doesn't have an obsession with craniums -- she has an obsession with fashion.
The owner of new Breckenridge helmet and goggle boutique Craniologie wants to equip her customers with equal parts technology and fashion.
"I can't stand seeing someone in a $1,000 ski outfit and a cheap, unattractive helmet," LaBelle said.
Helmets have come a long ways from the days of simply being a safety device. LaBelle's store offers the full spectrum of colors and designs from manufacturers like Bern, Girlo, Soloman, Red and Capix.
LaBelle and her staff use a three-step system to ensure customers walk out of the store with a helmet and goggle combination that fits properly, functions well and looks fashionable. The first step is measuring a customer's head. Each brand's sizes run a little different, but LaBelle is privy to this and can match a head size to a brand size.
Next she asks her customer what styles and features they are looking for. This is where the vast array of colors and designs come into play. Even something as seemingly minor as the nonfunctional brim can sway a customer one way or the other on a helmet, LaBelle said.
The final step in the outfitting process is to integrate the helmet with audio and video technology. Many of the helmets offered at Craniologie are compatible with specific earphones, which LaBelle has covered, as well. The shop also sells "Go Pro" high definition video cameras. These novel devices can be attached to virtually any sports equipment from a helmet to a surf board to a mountain bike.
"It's great value for the customer because they can use it for just about anything," LaBelle said.
The store also offers a range of beanies, neck sleeves, bombers and other head gear. And once the winter gives way to spring, Craniologie will carry bicycle and skate helmets and other warm weather gear.
LaBelle named the shop Craniologie after the scientific term craniology, defined in Stedmans Medical Dictionary as "(t)he science concerned with variations in size, shape, and proportion of the cranium..." Her friends and family suggested more obvious names like Heads Up, but LaBelle was confident potential customers would make the connection between cranium and Craniologie.
"I told a guy the other day that I opened a new store called Craniologie, and he thought for a minute and said, 'You sell helmets and goggles and stuff like that?' So I think people get the name," LaBelle said.
Crainiolgie is LaBelle's first foray into entrepreneurship, but she has professional experience as a purchaser for an outdoor gear company. She said owning a store has always been a dream of hers, and she's enthused to be on South Main Street in Breckenridge.
Nearby Craniologie are other niche boutiques like Hand and Glove and Joy of Sox. Hand and Glove owner Sheri Shelton said the biggest key to succeeding in Breckenridge for two years has been diversification. Her shop still keeps its primary focus on hands, but Shelton's shop also offers a selection of clothing and accessories. Likewise, LaBelle will likely carry bicycle clothing beyond helmets when spring rolls around.
- By Drew Andersen, Summit Daily News
(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
