The idea was planted in my head when I was expecting my third child. We went shopping in search of some maternity clothes, and of course had to travel out of town as there was nothing locally. We went to Kitchener, and searched the mall-nothing. I swore there was a Thyme maternity store there, and it was gone, vanished into thin air. I found a security guard and asked him where Thyme Maternity was, and he informed me it had closed. I burst out crying, due to hormones, and frustration. He put his arm around me and told me it had moved two blocks away-much to my embarassment! We packed the kids up in the car, and headed to the maternity store. I was shocked at the prices, $85 for a bathing suit! $75 for jeans! I purchased a few items, and we headed for home....and on the way, something caught my eye! A consignment store for kids! I had shopped at one of these stores long ago, and found such great designer brands, but that was in Toronto-I was excited to see one in Kitchener! I remember saying to my husband "Stratford NEEDS one of these stores, and we need a maternity store!" His reply-well then, why don't you open one then! I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but that is exactly what I did when our daughter was only 7 months old.
Marley and Me was a huge success from the start. We went with an upscale boutique style shop, far from your typical second hand store. We carried baby clothing 0-6x, maternity clothes, and really cool, must have new baby products! Within one year, I was nominated for Woman of The Year for Women in the Workplace, and I won that title! I was so surprised, but so excited that my accomplishments were recognized, and that people saw that I really do care about the families in our community.
In 2007, we were nominated for the Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award, and lost to the world famous, Rheo Thompson Candy Store. We were once again nominated in 2008-and WON! We are currently the recipient of the Retail Excellence Award, and we were named Best Consignment Store in the Stratford Gazette's Readers Choice awards.
I love challenges, and I am ready to move on. After the birth of our fourth child, Sophie, I made the decision to sell the store, and spend some time at home with the children. Our store sold one week after listing it for sale, and our wonderful new owners take over next week. It is bittersweet, as I have loved being so involved within our community, I have met so many amazing people, and I love what I have accomplished in three short years.
I am passionate about the baby business, and have now become an independant sales rep for several different distributors of baby products. I have the opportunity to work from home, all while managing our household, and being there for the children. I will have the chance to visit other children's stores across the province, and share with them my knowledge, and my experience in this industry, all while promoting some really cool, up and coming, and eco friendly baby products. As an award winning children's store owner, and as a mom of four, I feel I will be a definite asset to this industry! I also started up a water birthing pool rental business, and plan on getting that up and running too! So much to do!
So....on to my new beginning.
Kris
1 comment:
Wow! Very cool!
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