September 13, 2017 4 min read
Meet our happy place: our flagship store in Salt Lake City, Utah at City Creek Center. It's been 4 months now since we've moved into this location and I can still hardly believe it actually happened!
When the opportunity to move spaces within the center came up, we were thrilled to say the least. A space 5x's the size of our current location? Where we could have more than just 2 dressing rooms (and customers wouldn't have to wait 30 minutes for a dressing room)? A spot right smack in the heart of Salt Lake's most prestigious mall with beautiful 20 foot windows to make our crazy window display dreams become a reality? No brainer right?
And yet it wasn't. It was SUCH. A. HARD. DECISION. We'd be leaving where it all began, our very first location (okay, okay, Albion die-hards, technically, it WAS our second location but we were only in the first one for 2 months... so...) Our little corner on South Temple was in the shadow of the VERY BUILDING where Dave and I met in college while working in the copy room of Kirton & McConkie. Just across the street from where we were married on Temple Square. Where we had days with ZERO, yes, ZERO sales (and if you count returns we'd actually have negative days). That first location was where so many of you came in for the first time and took a chance on a small, local family business that was struggling and holding onto to sheer hope because failure just wasn't an option at that point.
We've had days there that literally made me cry out of joy, out of sadness and out of everything in between. One of my most treasured memories was when a sweet man who was blind came in and asked one of our girls to describe each article of clothing that he touched and rubbed gently across his cheek. And then there was that time a mother of triplets came in and we talked about the struggles of having multiples and being torn on how to show love to ALL your babies equally. It was where we had our first Black Friday sale and the line wrapped around the building and I came in with cupcakes to surprise our team and when I saw the line, I feigned a smile and went straight to the back room and CRIED on the floor in a ball because I just couldn't believe that so many people had come. It was where countless sweet friends and family came in to show us support and it meant the world, THE WORLD to us.
People often ask how we've found success and I always say that it was a lot of hard work, a lot of risk taking, a lot of breath-holding, and yes LUCK, a lot of LUCK. But really, it all comes down to having started this business in a place like the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City where a community truly rallied around us and simply would not let us fail. It has made all the difference in the world to me and Dave, our family, and the dozens of amazing people who work for us and believe in our same values and principles and mission for this company.
When we moved, one of our main concerns was how on earth we would protect the intimate setting we had fostered at our old location. How could we make sure customers still felt welcome and comfortable and safe in a space that was 5xs the size? And yet with the right furniture, the perfect fixtures, the gorgeous gallery wall (my favorite) and an amazing team of stylists, I think it's safe to say we've pulled it off!
Grand Opening day was magical. Our team all gathered together in the store for a ribbon cutting. There was a line that wrapped down the hallway, back down around, and then down the breezeway, and everyone was so excited for us. The atmosphere was electric, filled with love and positivity. It was a wonderful day.
We feel so blessed and so grateful every single time we walk through these doors. As we look at the map and plan out where future locations will be, I get goosebumps thinking about all the new wonderful faces we're going to get to meet and the new memories that we'll be making together. This is the best part of what we do and we're grateful for it every single day.
For now, we hope you'll come visit us in Salt Lake at the City Creek Center mall downtown. This is our address and here are some pics and sweet customer reviews... don't be a stranger. :) 51 Main St Suite 226 Salt Lake City, UT 84111
xoxo,
Liz Findlay, Co-Founder
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