Lizeth Morris’s new Breckenridge-based shop Ramblin’ Ma’am gives a nod to the ramblin’ man character, who was known as a drifter and traveler and has served as inspiration for songs in the 1950s and 1970s.

Morris gave a female persona to this vagabond character she thought fit in well with the explorative culture in Breckenridge. While you might walk into her shop to find a stylish woman with perfectly drawn eyeliner running the ship — the reality is she’s a bit of a ramblin’ ma’am herself. She said the same can be said for her partner and kids. 

Things never really slow down for this recreation-loving, home-schooling mom with a background in the behavioral health realm. Her idea of kicking back on her birthday is summiting a 14er.

To make things even more exciting for her already busy life, she decided to throw a new business into the mix. 

She opened Ramblin’ Ma’am Boutique & Books on Friday, Oct. 3, and is already hearing positive feedback about her unique inventory. People can find everything from foraging guides to ceramic cowboy hat pots to travel essentials at Ramblin’ Ma’am Boutique & Books. 

She said she wanted her first solo business venture to be reflective of her family’s lifestyle and her own upbringing as a first-generation, eclectic American.

Her previous career in the behavioral health realm didn’t have much overlap with retail. She didn’t have much of a blueprint to guide her in opening Ramblin’ Ma’am. The blueprint she had was from her savvy Peruvian mom, Rose. 

Morris said her mother experienced a class drop when she moved to the U.S., going from the upper class in Peru to the lower class in the U.S. She said her mother’s knack for thrifting and making “gems” out of what others might have found to be discardable had an influence on her in childhood that stuck. So, while curating an inventory was new territory, she had a prime example of navigating and thriving in new territory. 

Morris said she looked to stock her shelves with things like necessities visitors might have forgotten on their Breckenridge vacation, new fresh reads the literary world is talking about and other knick-knacks people might not find other places. Among her favorite of those knickknacks are the “cocktails kits 2 go,” which she thinks backpackers like herself will be excited about. These lightweight kits weigh less than a tin of mints but contain enough ingredients for four cocktails. To complete the drinks people just need to buy their own shooters. 

While retail ownership is new for the Morris clan, Colorado and Breckenridge aren’t. In renting a storefront on Main Street to fill with Ramblin’ Ma’am Boutique & Books, she takes over a space previously rented by her cousin Jessica Sessions, former owner of Magical Scraps Boutique & Studio. 

As Sessions transitioned out of owning Magical Scraps, the Morrises had just moved back to Colorado, choosing Summit County as their landing place, and they were looking for an anchor to keep them there. Once the storefront opened, Morris had the unique opportunity to get it as a newcomer to Breckenridge, renting from a family she said has long generational ties to Summit. 

She wants to create a similar legacy for her own family. 

“This is a special place, and we want to make it permanent,” she said. “So this is our way of clawing at that dream.” 

Morris said she wants Ramblin’ Ma’am Boutique & Books to be more than a boutique in Breckenridge. She created a little gathering area with cornhole outside, and she’s thrilled to see people wandering Main Street already taking a liking to it. She said she wants it to be the type of place where someone can buy a book and immediately start reading it on-site. 

Ramblin’ Ma’am Boutique & Books is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, but things might change on holidays. It is located at 310 Main St. More information can be found at RamblinMaamBoutique.com/home.