A shoe boutique that will sell and buy gently used, unique footwear opened Saturday at 146 N. Main St.

LACED LLC sells apparel and accessories and allows participants to trade, sell and purchase the latest and limited shoes such as Jordans, Nikes, Adidas and Asics, store owner Shamanda Washington said.

“LACED is different from your average shoe stores because it gives you access to shoes that no other shoe store in Farmville has,” Washington said.

LACED held a grand opening Saturday from noon to 7 p.m., where there was food and music.

The boutique is at the previous location of the Clothes Closet, operated by the Piedmont Area Veterans Council. The store announced closure at the end of March.

Washington, a 2009 graduate of Prince Edward County High School, said she graduated from Mary Baldwin University in 2013 and has worked for five years with underprivileged youth in the Maryland/DC area.

She said shoes hold a special place for her, even as a child.

She remembered recently visiting her family in the county and attending a football game, and being struck by the atmosphere, differing from the supportive Farmville community she remembered growing up.

“I started to think how can I bring the community together and as I looked at people during the football game,” Washington said. “I saw everyone had one thing in common ‘cool shoes,’ so my idea took off from there.”

Washington said her aim for the store is to bring the Prince Edward County/Farmville community together and offer places for youth to meet each other and unite for a common interest. She said while the company is available on social media, she said particularly having a physical store itself, and having people interact with one another is important to her.

“I like face to face interaction, I encourage people to come in and say hello,” Washington said. “In this day and age a lot of things are done over the internet and is very impersonal and I think it takes away from us as people.”

To learn more, visit the store or see LACED LLC on Facebook and and lacedkicksva on Instagram.