Walking down the Hill Country Mile, The Pearl Antler is hard to miss. The thriving boutique combines country fashion with sparkle, sass, and everything in between. It may be the bright blue truck that catches your eye and the fashions that draw you in, but it will be Reagan and Robyn who keep you coming back.
Owner Reagan Harris has nurtured this passion project since 2015 with the support of her mother, Robyn McGarr. “Because I'm her mother…I'm a good sounding board for her,” she says. Reagan agrees that her mom is a trusted confidant and partner. “She just supports me,” says Reagan. “We do everything together.”
That unwavering support can sometimes look like a lot of things. When Reagan decided to open a store, Robyn says her response was, “You’re crazy! What if you fail?” Reagan replied with her own question: “What if I fly?” And that was enough for Robyn, who ended with, “I’m with you 100%. So if you say you’re gonna do it, I’m with you all the way.”
From then on, the collaboration was continuous. When renaming the business, Robyn suggested Reagan use her birthstone. Thus, The Pearl Antler was born. Robyn explains, “The pearl adds a little bit of upscale. That’s the glam. And then the antler fits in with the Hill Country.”
The logo came out of their mother-daughter dynamic, too. The ladies knew they needed to distinguish themselves at Fredericksburg Trade Days, so Robyn’s beautifully adorned axis deer head with pearls and rhinestones became the brand. “So we pulled that out, put it in the turquoise, and wrote ‘The Pearl Antler’ over it,” Reagan says, and in March of 2016, she opened The Pearl Antler in Boerne. Plus, she was excited to move back. “I just knew when I opened my store, I had to come back here. My brother lived here, my Nana, all my cousins—everybody was here. It's always felt like home.”
Reagan was born and raised here, so the Boerne lifestyle has always shaped her style. “All of high school, I wore starched jeans, boots,” she recalls. “Like I was that girl.” When she went to college, her style naturally evolved. “I realized all of my friends that rodeo didn’t dress like they rodeoed,” she says. “I told myself, ‘You can ride and do just the same things as them. You don’t have to dress that way.’”
Reagan and Robyn share a passion for inspiring customers to broaden their style. Reagan says, “It may not look like your style, but you can wear it with other things and make it yours.” Carrying brands like Umgee and Jaded Gypsy in sizes small to three XL, Reagan says, “I want you to feel good—whether you buy something from me or not—I want you to know that this is a safe space.”
Aligned in their values and vision, they have their differences. Robyn says, “It’s probably both age and personality because this girl has no fear.” Unlike her daughter, Robyn says she doesn’t like taking chances. “I see how she makes things work, so I don't want to be the ball and chain all the time.” But when necessary, Mom will share her point of view. For example: “Sometimes I'll have picked something that I think is darling,” Robyn says, “and she'll say, ‘No way, that'll never sell.’” Yet, they do sell, she says, smiling, and often quickly. Of course, she’s quick to admit that the same drama plays out vice versa, too.
Both daughter and mom work full-time jobs outside the store, limiting their time in the shop. “I have just hired really good people to make it work,” Reagan says. Julie Livingston-McCartney, the chief merchandiser and longest-serving employee, credits the duo as the backbone of The Pearl Antler. “Robyn and Reagan complement each other,” she says. Despite their differences, “They have complete respect, understanding, devotion, and compassion for each other.”
They have also supported each other through many family losses, most recently Reagan’s grandmother and Robyn’s mother, Mary Ellen Penwell. Glamorous and always put together, Mary Ellen often visited the store. “She would just sit and talk to people all day long,” Reagan reminisces. “She loved to come hang out with us.”
The Pearl Antler now involves a fourth generation. Reagan’s two daughters, aged six and three, contribute to a small section of resale items. And her husband, Bryant, has chipped in, too, primarily doing carpentry work for the store from the beginning.
Since moving to its current location in 2022, The Pearl Antler has received recognition from The Boerne Star and Boerne Chamber of Commerce. Reagan hopes to add stationery and a tea room, serving meals made by Robyn. Until then, Reagan holds pop-ups for vendors, participates in community events, and welcomes passersby to check out the late-1950s turquoise Chevy Apache in the courtyard.
There's something for everyone, from sale grab bags and a hat bar to accessories and a tiny men’s shirt section (yes, it does exist). Yet, the bond between Robyn and Reagan makes The Pearl Antler special. As a long-time family friend, Livingston-McCartney sums it up this way: “Their charisma just oozes with love, friendliness, and compassion… They love big, and they just make life fun.” The Pearl Antler is an extension of their charisma—grounded in their faith, family, and community—making fashion fun.
Considering starting your own business? Reagan says, “Just do it. Go for it. You’ll never know until you try.” Robyn cautions, though, “It’s not as easy as it looks.” Reagan and Robyn recommend spending time researching and identifying your niche. Reagan shares that it is essential to be strategic with spending. “It was probably year two, year three, before I truly saw that it was making a profit.”
When mixing family with business, Robyn advises, “If you’ve got a good relationship already, it’ll work.” Though lines can blur between work and home, Reagan says you have to be able to have hard conversations. Robyn says, “You don’t have to think alike, but you have to think together to be aligned.”
thepearlantler.com | 830-331-7340 | 322 S. Main St., Ste. A
“I want you to feel good—whether you buy something from me or not.” —Reagan Harris
“You don’t have to think alike, but you have to think together to be aligned.” —Robyn McGarr