Lemon Tree Landing has always been one of those places where you feel good the second you walk through the door. Warm conversation, humming sewing machines and the easy back-andforth of people who genuinely enjoy serving their neighbors. Now, owner Carla Blair is extending that same heart for community into a brand new venture: Lemons & Lace, a formalwear rental shop offering prom dresses and tuxedos right next door.

The shop hosted its grand opening on Nov. 8, drawing steady visitors throughout the evening.

“We had people right at five o’clock and came till about seven,” Blair said. “We had a lot of people in … I was hoping I could get the word out to more outside of our area.”

If Blair sounds humble, it’s because she is. But the work she does speaks for itself and so do the people who keep coming back.

— From the Navy, to Naples, to Morris

Blair’s story isn’t typical which may be why her businesses stand out.

“I’m not from here,” she said with a laugh. “I grew up in Kansas, and was in the military, retired Navy … We were stationed in Naples for three years, and I fell in love with lemons there. They were everywhere fresh, wholesome, full of life.”

Those lemons became the seed of a dream. “When I retired, I said, ‘I’m gonna have my own sewing business,’” she said. “My husband thought I was crazy, but I was serious. I already had my business name, my stuff. I was doing this.”

After moving to Morris in 2016, Blair opened Lemon Tree Landing in 2017 with nothing but one sewing machine and a vision that, honestly, only she could see at first.

“I moved in with my one sewing machine,” she said. “It was just me and my sewing machine.”

Today, that original machine sits quietly in the corner still in the family, still “baby,” as Blair calls it. Around her, the shop hums with commercial-grade machines, named affectionately by the staff; Val, Mildred, Cutting Kathy; all busy stitching the community’s shirts, jackets, hats, patches, horse blankets, wedding heirlooms and keepsakes.

— A Shop Built on Quality & Conversation If you ask Blair what keeps her going, she won’t talk about profit margins or big contracts. She’ll talk about people.

“I think what keeps me mostly going is not the work,” she said. “It’s the people and interacting with the people that come in … I didn’t know anybody when I got here. And just having people come in and having conversation helped me learn about the community.”

That personal connection also shows up in the work.

“If it’s not my quality, it’s going in the discard pile,” Blair said. “If I don’t like it, we’re doing it again.”

Her team tests every design before stitching it on a customer’s item, whether that’s a CP Kelco uniform shirt, a Muscogee Nation project, a rodeo jacket, a bag tag or a grandmother’s delicate keepsake that cannot be replaced.

She digitizes every custom design in-house, something many embroidery companies outsource, which keeps costs down and makes turnaround quicker.

“Sometimes we have to get creative,” she said, describing how they handled an oversized novelty “Big Head” hat that wouldn’t fit in any machine. “We made a puffy embroidered patch, heat-pressed it on, and made it work. Some projects are a group effort.”

— Where Lemons & Lace Began

Lemons & Lace grew naturally out of years of altering prom dresses.

“Every year, the girls would come with their beautiful dresses needing alterations,” Blair said. “And I kept looking at the dresses thinking, ‘This is ridiculous.’ They’re paying $700-900 for a dress, wearing it for an hour, and then trying to resell it for half. It’s such a waste.”

She also saw the students who simply couldn’t access that world at all.

“I looked around at a lot of the kids in our community,” she said, “and as much as they would love to have a big dress like that, there’s no way they’re ever going to have one.”

That’s when she started researching formalwear rental models and the door opened.

She found a supplier offering brand new designer gowns at wholesale in large lots, including names local girls recognize immediately: Sherri Hill, Jovani, Casey Jay and others.

“Why not buy them at a good price and rent them?” she asked. “People could enjoy something beautiful without taking on a financial burden. And I wanted this to be available for the whole area, not just Morris.”

When the storefront next door became vacant this summer, Blair knew it was time.

“If anybody could take a risk on a new business, I could,” she said. “Because I’m already established here. And the landlord was gracious enough to let us remodel and make it what we needed.”

— A Boutique Experience Without Leaving Town Stepping inside Lemons & Lace feels like stepping into a Tulsa boutique without Tulsa gas prices or traffic.

“I walked in the other day and it was like walking into a spa,” Blair said. “Relaxing, calm, no weird smells just really nice.”

Racks of gowns line the walls in vibrant colors and elegant silhouettes. Tuxedo rentals are also available a major convenience for local families.

“They don’t need to go all the way to Tulsa just for a tux,” Blair said. “We can get all the colors and everything that goes with it.”

Blair wants the space to be practical, beautiful, and welcoming to every student whether they know exactly what dress they want or need help figuring it out.

“If somebody is a size eight, they should try every size eight dress,” she said. “They all look so different. You really don’t know until you try it on.”

— Prom Package Registration & the Wish Bowl Right now, Lemons & Lace is registering students for its Prom Package until Dec. 5.

“If people are interested in renting a dress, they should come and register,” Blair said. “Put their name in the jar we’re doing drawings, and I’d like everybody to participate.”

There’s also a “Wish Bowl,” a small touch that captures the heart behind the shop.

“Somebody can say, ‘You don’t have what I want, but if I could wish for a dress…’” she explained. “They fill out the card and put it in the bowl. When I shop for more dresses, I look at every wish.”

— A Business by Hand, by Heart & for Community Blair doesn’t pretend she’s building some overnight empire.

“It might not make me a million dollars,” she said, “but I think it will help some people. And that’s what matters.”

And that’s the theme that circles back again and again: help, connection, community, dignity.

Whether it’s a police uniform patch, a rodeo jacket, a prom dress, or a tuxedo Blair’s hands and heart are in every stitch.

“I’m thankful for you for coming and getting our story,” she told me. “And I hope this goes well, because what we’re offering really is beneficial for the entire county.”

She’s right. It is. And in a town like Morris where word of mouth still means something that kind of service doesn’t just grow a business.

It strengthens a community.