Puppeteer, Montessori teacher, provocateur and trend-spotting Rice grad Camella Clements’ latest endeavor is a charming little boîte in the Heights, christened after her own moniker. Sited in a micro center on White Oak, footsteps from the bustling Onion Creek, La Camella’s interiors and stocked goods reflect Clement’s well-edited sensibility. On rolling racks hang the latest from small-batch designers: Washborn, Mara Hoffman, Edith A. Miller and Marfa-based Fancy Pony Land. There are faux-bois ceramics by Houston clay talent Carole F. Smith; baubles by local artists Megan Whitenton, Phillip Durbin and Katy Heinlein (a biomorphic bracelet with little pompoms references Heinlein’s work in large-scale soft sculpture); and abstract paintings with a touch of glitter by Lawndale-exhibited painter Alika Herreshoff (priced from $38 for a desk-sized canvas to $1,200 for impressive wall statements). Factor in Gee Wa Wa platform shoes, glossy makeup by Medusa, A. J. Morgan’s collection of dramatic sunglasses and Mary Green lingerie (cleverly displayed in a clothespin lineup), and you have the vibe of La Camella. There’s even a touch of vintage threads, but so pristine and interspersed with the boutique’s current collections that a 1930s daytime dress or ‘70s-era geometric has been totally recontextualized. And a note of history: This droll shopping find, which neighbors record stop Heights Vinyl and stationery store The Write Stuff!, is situated in a 100-year-old building that once served as mechanics shop; La Camella’s space was one of the auto bays. Clements’ personal history is equally fascinating: She’s a progeny of the storied Morris family of Galveston and Houston, and she credits her grandparents Joella and Stewart Morris’ “eccentric aesthetic” — Mrs. Morris a former model, Mr. Morris possessing a penchant for plaid — as sparking her own sense of style. 3122 White Oak Dr., 713.808.9377; lacamella.com.
Image: Camella Clements with Vernon. Photo by Jenny Antill.