It's no secret I love fashion! I am a boutique owner, but I have always loved fashion even as a little girl. When I played Barbies, all I did was dress them all up for a special event, only to start over, rarely even enacting anything with them. I also spent hours hand drawing dresses and outfits for my paper doll collection. I didn't even care much about the pre-manufactured outfits...it was all about designing things myself.
In college, I felt torn between my love for fashion and art and a desire to stay close to my Midwestern family. I knew if I pursued the fashion industry as a career most of the jobs were in cities like New York or LA. For me, moving away from my family and my long time boyfriend (now hubby) was not an option. I was always a family person. It was my dad who tore out a newspaper article on a boutique in our community and suggested it might be a career that could work for me down the road. He also made me stop and talk to the boutique owner and ask for a job. She graciously gave me one, and I quickly fell in love with the job and the boutique environment.
I tend to do things in extremes too, so only 4 years later, still in my mid 20's I took the plunge to open my own store. What seemed like an adventure to me, probably looked crazy to my parents and family. I was young, lacked experience, and had a 2 year old to care for at the time. Plus, only months after I opened my store in July 2008, the economy took a nosedive into the Great Recession. However, what I lacked in experience and financial backing, I made up for in passion, faith, and determination. And, through serious hard work and perseverance my adventure has become a dream come true; I am blessed to have a growing, successful store. I am super thankful to the Lord for helping me achieve this success. I attribute basically everything to Him, as ultimately I believe that my hard work and determination were just ingredients in His plan for me and the blessings he has bestowed. Flourish is His store not mine in many ways.
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| Flourish Boutique, home of http://www.flourishboutique.com/ |
So...now I find myself 4 years later, settled into a career in fashion and therefore a career I was born to do. I love, and I mean love fashion. I can't get enough....I work all day at the store, come home and after the rest of my family is asleep start working again: editing photos, creating blog posts, email blasts, and doing online buying. And I wake up every morning, ready to dive back in. When I am on vacation I find myself, googling other boutiques, constantly on the hunt for merchandising ideas and new lines to discover for the store! In fact some of my vacation boutique hunting has resulted in some of my favorite lines at Flourish like Mystree, Papilllon, and Judith March.
For some reason, I was truly made to love Fashion and I believe called to open a fashion business. To some, working in fashion might seem like a superficial career choice. But I believe that there is a reason I love it so much and have been designed to be in retail. I guess I am figuring that reason out day by day. I don't have it all figured out yet. My question for you though is...what is your "fashion"? And what I mean by that is: what are you born to do and simply love? I think so many people make career choices based on what they THINK they should do, what someone else thinks they should do, or what makes the most money...but I believe God calls us to pursue what he designed us to love. I think we are supposed to work hard, but do it with our hearts beating fast for our work. My dad once gave me this advice: "Do what you love and the money will follow" What he meant was not to squander our time and resources in order to have fun, but more that if you carefully and purposefully plan your career around your passion, your drive and love for your work will carry you far and help you excel....such that money will follow. It's almost impossible to work hard and with excellence when you dread work each day. Almost every industry and career niches to discover to make money in...but the key is lining yourself up with those opportunities by pursuing what you love. I encourage you to pursue what makes your heart beat fast! Life is to short to be defined by a career you despise. Seek your passion...start small if you have to, but start now and figure out a realistic way to do what you love. Be wise and be responsible, but go after your dream! Instead of saying "Show me the money...say show me the [fashion]." (you fill in the blank!).
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