Oceanport Gal Finds 'Uphoria' in Little Silver

There are two types of dreamers: those who turn their dreams into a reality and those whose hopes and ideas remain just a dream. For 23-year-old Tina Montanez, it wasn’t a matter of if her dreams would come true. It was a matter of when.

Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, N.Y., Montanez developed an eye for fashion at an early age. But it wouldn’t be until her move to New Jersey that she would finally take the necessary steps to turn her lifelong goal into a reality.

After residing in Middletown for five years, Montanez moved to Oceanport, where she went on to graduate from in West Long Branch in 2005. She then attended where she obtained her degree in fashion merchandising.

Following years of working at and managing various clothing stores, Montanez was not satisfied. She wanted to run her own contemporary women’s boutique.

“From clothes to shoes, I knew retail is what I wanted to do,” Montanez said. “But after years of running different stores, I ultimately wanted to run something of my own. I wanted to make a career for myself.  Growing up, I’ve always had a love for fashion. Living in New York, I was exposed to a lot of people in the fashion industry and I knew it was where I wanted to be.”

Once Montanez’s mother, Susan Gallagher, agreed to be her business partner, Montanez’s dream took a huge step toward coming to fruition.

Although Montanez and her mother were aware that starting a business from the ground up would not be an easy task, they had a plan in place: establish a name and a location.

“My mother came up with the name UPHORIA, which originally comes from the word euphoria," Montanez said.  “We decided to add our own twist to it by changing the spelling but keeping the pronunciation the same. The word euphoria means a feeling of happiness, confidence and well-being. This is how we want our customer to feel during and after a shopping experience at UPHORIA.”

With the boutique’s name decided, their focus shifted to a location. Knowing they wanted to break ground close to where they reside, Montanez and her mother decided on Little Silver.

“Little Silver was at the top of my list as far as store location goes,” Montanez said. “I really like the closely knit community and I felt UPHORIA would be a great addition to the surrounding businesses. There are no women's boutiques in the town, so I felt our store was exactly what the community was missing.”

Four months after they landed their ideal location, UPHORIA was open for business.

To become more familiar with the whole process of forming an LLC and filing for all of the necessary permits, Montanez took a business class. She also made several trips out to Los Angeles and New York to search for unique brands that she thought were both affordable and trendy.

“I feel it’s important to provide great pieces at a reasonable price,” Montanez said.

Montanez plans on doing all of the decor and buying for the store, while her mother will handle all of the accounting and financial aspects.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it all without her,” Montanez said of her mother. “I can’t thank her enough for all of her efforts in making my dream come true.”

With UPHORIA, Montanez’s goal is to make the customer’s shopping experience fun and easy by creating a good atmosphere and providing great customer service.

According to Montanez, UPHORIA will be packed with the latest fashions, sure to bring out the shopaholic in anyone who enters the store. In addition, it plans on carrying a wide assortment of clothing and accessories that will fit each customer’s personal style, age or size.  Montanez believes UPHORIA will be a place to find unique and stylish trends that are always current.

“Here at UPHORIA, we try to make shopping fun and personable,” Montanez said. “It’s never fun walking into a store and having a pushy salesperson sell you something you don't feel comfortable in.  As Coco Chanel said, 'Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.' Fashion is a way of expressing yourself, it’s a creative outlet, a statement. It’s not just a way to look good, but a way to feel good about yourself.

On Saturday, Aug. 6, UPHORIA officially opened up its doors to the public and Montanez's dream came true.

“I was really happy with the turnout we had for our grand opening party,” Montanez said. “We had food, drinks and good music. It was an overall great time.”

“There were definitely times when I thought it was unrealistic for me to ever open my own store, but I stayed positive and strongly believed in myself. My long-term goal is to be successful with this boutique and eventually open a second one in a few years. I would love to carry both men and women ‘s clothing and accessories in my next store and continue to grow from there.”

UPHORIA is located on 155 Markham Place in Little Silver. The store’s website, www.ShopUPHORIA.com is currently under construction, but if you are looking to obtain further information regarding UPHORIA you can visit the store on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ShopUPHORIA.