If you're looking for the odd, the unusual or the unique in gifts, collectibles and apparel, then a visit to the Village Bo-Tik in Pinecrest is definitely in order.

Maria Hiers displays some of the wares in her Bo-Tik

"We spend a lot of time and put a lot of effort into making sure that what we have is unique," said Maria Hiers, who owns the little boutique in partnership with her mother, Maria Castro. "Everything that we carry is from different parts of the world, Italy, Nicaragua, India, Indonesia -- Bali, Java, the Philippines.

"Between my family and me, we've traveled to all over the world," Hiers continued, "so we know where to go to find the type of resources that we want to bring into the store."

There are gifts from South America, accessories from Europe, shoes from Italy and dresses from India. You'll find handmade eyeglass holders from Guatemala, handbags from India and hand-knitted sweaters from Thailand. There are collectible dolls ­ including Raggedy Ann and Andy ­ and elegant eveningwear with embroidered pearls.

"And, our prices are really good," she said. "Just because we're different doesn't mean you're going to pay high prices."

Hiers, 39, who grew up in Pinecrest and graduated from Palmetto Senior High School in 1977, said she and her mother chose the name Village Bo-Tik as a play on words about the type of shop they were opening and some of the apparel they planned to carry.
"We just wanted to be different and Bo-Tik is different from the normal spelling of boutique," she explained.

"And, since we're bringing in a lot of things from Bali, you know how 'Batik' is spelled. So, it was just to be funny ­ Batik, boutique and Bo-Tik -- a little play on words."

Within the confines of the little store there are Sterling silver bracelets with marcasite and rhodosite stones, ear rings, brooches that resemble handmade metal insects ­ spiders, beetles, scarabs -- elegant evening dresses from Bali, embroidered dresses from Guatemala, lined lace dresses from Mexico by Star Dance and beautiful fashions from such international apparel makers as Camana, GlobeTrotter, Spa, Georgia and Chantik from Bali.

"What makes Chantik unique is that their stuff is all hand-done," said Hiers. "They bring out only a limited quantity and then they change the prints and they move forward. So you can always have a fresh look and it's very easy to wash. They do everything, dresses, pant sets, skirt sets, everything."
The Village Bo-Tik, at 8271 SW 124 Street, has been open since September, but Hiers says the shop is only now receiving a lot of the merchandise that was ordered last summer.

"We always want to be different from what you'd normally find in the malls and most other stores," she said. "What I would like people to come in for is knowing that we have the collectibles, the unusual accessories, gifts and apparel.

"One of the comments that I hear a lot from my customers is that they appreciate the fact that they're not going to walk out on the street from here looking like everybody else."