Great Expectations

The Eureka Reporter:

When it comes to maternity clothing, Humboldt County has little to offer. While the area boasts many specialty women’s clothing shops, few cater to the small but ever-present expectant-mothers niche.

In response, Humboldt County resident Holly Johnson has taken matters into her own hands. Johnson is the proud owner of Expectations, a women’s maternity boutique that recently opened in Henderson Center.

A native of Los Angeles, Johnson had lived on the North Coast for more than five years and was expecting her first child when she ran into a problem finding what she called “cute, functional” maternity clothing. She ordered clothing through Internet Web sites and traveled to Santa Rosa to find items to fit her expanding waistline.

It was unfortunate, she said, that she had to search for stores that carried maternity wear during what she considered to be one of the most wonderful times of her life.

Pregnant mothers want to feel beautiful during one of the most incredible times of their lives, Johnson said, and part of feeling beautiful is about what you wear. “Clothes are important,” she said. “They’re a part of who you are.”

“As an expectant mom, it’s very important that you’re able to feel as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside,” she added. “A woman is never more beautiful than when she is expecting and she deserves to feel and look her absolute best every day during this venture in her life.”

After having her baby 11 months ago, Johnson committed herself to providing a solution to what she saw as a major obstacle for expectant women in Humboldt County. She opened Expectations on June 8 and held a ribbon cutting celebrating the business’s opening one week later. Mayor Virginia Bass cut the ribbon, which was held by Chamber of Commerce Executive Director J Warren Hockaday, Johnson, Expectations employees and family members.