Well here it is my big announcement... Lucky Lady, as you know it, will not be opening this summer. Since the hurricane I have mulled this decision over and over in my head, made many lists, shed quite a few tears, and I am still not sure if it is the right one. However, it is what is best for me and my family at this point in our lives. The risks that this summer brings with so many unknowns are far too big for us bear this year. So I am taking this opportunity to set some major goals for my life and career. As much as I have loved creating Lucky Lady and building it into the shop we all love so much, it has not been easy. Glamorous as it may seem there is so much more to owning a shop than shopping. (Although there are a fair share of perks... I mean I have a pretty rad wardrobe) I am really looking for a little more balance in my life which, as you can imagine, is hard to obtain when your shop closes at 2 am.
I know a lot of you will be disappointed, trust me I am too. I honestly have not been able to talk about it without tearing up. This store has become such a major part of who I am and it has been really hard for me to imagine myself without it. For those of you that don't know, I opened up shop the summer going into my senior year in college. I had planned on studying abroad for the summer and when the program was cancelled at the last minute I was devastated and wanted to do something more with my summer. I remember calling my parents and pitching them the idea about opening a kiosk in the middle of the boardwalk and selling jewelry and accessories. At the time these beaded indian inspired slippers were all over the city and I was confident that I could sell them at home. (By the way... I'm cringing right now thinking of them) While they don't allow kiosks on the boardwalk, my dad made some calls and found a little stand I could rent and turn into a shop. The next week there was a trade show and I remember saying if I found things I liked that would be the deciding factor. My mom came along with me and when I placed my first order I almost died when it totaled over $1000.00 (which by the way is nothing, but this was all new to me... and I was in broke and in college). I'll never forget my mom telling me, "You have to spend money to make money". I had borrowed $10,000 from my parents to place my initial orders and fix up the store and had three weeks to get everything ready before opening Memorial Day weekend. I will never forget that summer and how hard I worked in that little 12'x12' space with no air conditioning everyday from 11:00 am to 12:00am. I learned so much in those three months. I gained confidence and loved the feeling of accomplishment seeing all of my hard work paying off. That summer I was able to pay back my parents and save enough to move into the bigger space that we have been in for the past seven years. Those walls have seen me through so many life changing events and ups and down the past few years. No matter what was going on in my life when I was at work I knew just what I had to do and I was good at it. Imagining myself standing behind that counter looking beyond what I had built and out at the ocean for the last time has been hard to come to terms with. (And may have resulted in me sobbing while touching walls. I know... I'm dramatic)
I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to do something that I truly loved to do. I have had amazing help over the past few years and could not have done it all alone. I feel so blessed to have developed such amazing friendships and can not imagine my days there without them. The amount of encouragement and support I have received over the years has meant the world to me and I appreciate it more than I can ever express.
With that, I promise that you have not seen the last of me. Right now I am focusing on creating the type of life and business I want. As you can see above, I jumped into Lucky Lady pretty quickly and while it has been an amazing adventure there are always things I would do differently. I truly believe that anyone is capable of accomplishing their goals and I am taking this opportunity to do so myself.
And now for the silver lining... meet House of Lucky...
We are not completely going away, just going through some changes. We have grown to love so much more than just clothing and accessories and wanted a name that reflects that. House of Lucky is so much more than a shop, it is a lifestyle, an experience, a place for inspiration, a place to share, a place to connect. I want to get to know you better and I want you to know me better as well. I want to earn your respect and trust that if I suggest a product, it's something I would use myself, in my home and for my own child. I have just signed on to completely rebrand my business and build our website (I know, finally)! This is a huge thing for me and something I have wanted to do for a long time. I figured if I truly want to make this work I have to invest the time and money to make it happen, much like my initial $1000 order to start Lucky Lady.
I am really excited to share these changes with you all and hope you love whats in store. I would love for you guys to follow my journey here and I'm open to any and all advice, suggestions, love notes, opportunities, questions, criticism... Ill take it all. Let's chat!
