A Way to Honor Life

November 24, 2023December 4, 2023 Tex Appeal staff Brooke Niemi, Gannon Ryder Boutique

Tragic loss leads to creation of Gannon Ryder Boutique

By RACHEL STRICKLAND | Photos by SKEEBO and courtesy of BROOKE NIEMI

Over the last few years, many people have taken the plunge into ecommerce entrepreneurship and have opened their own online store fronts without ever having to leave the comfort of their homes. One such woman with an entrepreneurial spirit is Army wife Brooke Niemi, who opened her online shop, Gannon Ryder Boutique, after suffering a tragedy that no mother should have to face.

Brooke and her husband, Trenton, welcomed their precious baby boy, Gannon Ryder, into the world in May 2022. He was born 17 weeks early, and after fighting for his life in the NICU for two weeks, he sadly passed away. In an attempt to create something good out of something so horrific, Brooke opened Gannon Ryder Boutique just a few months after her son’s passing — on his official due date, in fact.

The Gannon Ryder Boutique website is chock-full of cute, Western-style clothes and accessories for women and children. From cowhide purses and turquoise jewelry to Aztec pattern sweatshirts and cute graphic tees, there is something for everyone who wants to display their Texas spirit. Brooke mainly works with wholesalers to stock her shop, but she also handmakes a few items herself when she can.

Gannon Ryder Boutique honors the short life of Brooke and Trenton Niemi’s son who was born prematurely.

Gannon was conceived via in vitro fertilization, and Brooke understands the emotional and financial struggle that many couples deal with when going through IVF treatments. She says she knows of many couples who cannot afford IVF because their medical insurance will not cover it. Therefore, 50% of all proceeds from the exclusive Gannon Collection will go to a fund that Brooke set up in hopes of helping families who cannot afford to undergo IVF.

While the Gannon Ryder Boutique is primarily online, Brooke also shares a small storefront in Lampasas with a friend. Brooke’s husband, Trenton, is a medic in the Army, and they’re currently stationed at Fort Cavazos, so she wanted to keep her boutique mostly online because the couple will likely leave the area in the next year or so.

Brooke says she’s always had dreams to own her own store ever since she was young, but she never had the courage to jump into entrepreneurship. But last September, mere months after Gannon’s passing, she decided that she wanted to have something good in her life that she could focus on and find joy in once again. She decided to make her dreams a reality, and she took a leap of faith and opened her online store.

“I opened (the boutique) to give myself something to look forward to every day and something to honor his memory,” Brooke says.