Southern Unique Elegance

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

I've mentioned a couple of times that my mom and I have gone into business together and then I recanted that statement. It's really my mom's business and I'm here for the grunt work! Okay, I do a little more than just the grunt work. I get to help pick out the pieces we want to re-purpose and sell. I get to work on the pieces with my dad from time to time. And, I get to arrange the booth when adding new items. And I have to say that's the best part of the job! Oh, and I love working with my mom. 

We have wanted to do something together for years, but we weren't really sure what we wanted to do. We love to craft, but everyone is doing that. We love specialty boutiques, but we didn't really want the day in and day out hassles and issues that come with running your own store front. We had a small staging business and loved it, but the jobs were too sporadic and we didn't really have the storage space for the all the items we needed to store. We love antiquing, finding treasures that need a little TLC, and then finding a place for them in our respective homes. That is was more our calling and we answered! 

We met a woman last May at our bi-annual garage sale who scooped up some of the Hallmark ornaments we were selling. She stated that she was planning to add them to her home decor booth and we started asking questions. Turns out, she had a space in a little shop in Louisburg, KS and sold various items. Antiques, Hallmark ornaments, crafts, and housewares. She said we needed to come check her out and we did. But it wasn't until late October. As we walked the space, roaming into little rooms, walking among rows of vendors, we felt so at home and decided to start asking some questions. It turned our that a space was opening up in November and it was our if we wanted it. We chatted briefly and decided to take the plunge. Booth number 10 was our new business!

We talked the entire 20 minute trip home. We bantered excitedly about what we were going to place in the booth, what we thought would be our best products to sell, and what we could do to really make it our own space. Make it look like us. And by the time we got home, we had our game plan in place. We were going to move in the week before Thanksgiving and we had a lot to do to prepare. We needed furniture to fill the space and make it look like a home, but we also needed it for showcasing our glassware and other small items. We gathered all the antique pieces we've collected over the years, but never used, and began placing them in our heads within the space. Now we needed a name. It needed to be unique. It needed to reflect us. And it came to me one night while lying awake thinking about the to-do list in my head. I originally thought of Southern Unique and Elegant, but it didn't really roll off the tongue. I talked it over with my mom and she said, what about Southern Unique Elegance. And a name was born. Oh, and just so you know, when the name is broken down, SUE just happens to be our middles names. Perfect, right? And not a coincidence.

As we got started at home, my dad helped us sand and paint a drop leaf kitchen table that we found at a garage sale, helped us prep a table that we got for free from a couple in their neighborhood who were moving back to Canada and didn't need it anymore, and he loaded up all the stuff when it was time to move in. I guess you could say it's a family biz now!

Since we started the booth in November, we have added space! We are now renting the space next to us which really helped open up the booth. We have added some additional furniture, home goods, and a few other pieces we think might sell. That's the thing for us right now. Figuring out what sells. What is the best thing for the booth. What people will find the most appealing. And we think it's furniture. However, we went last week to take out Christmas and give the space a little face lift and found that what we thought wasn't selling is selling. I think it's going to be a guessing game and it's so fun to play! Here is a glimpse into Southern Unique Elegance.









If you haven't made a trip to Louisburg, go! It's a quaint little town and Simply Selah, the boutique that houses Southern Unique Elegance and all the other fabulous vendors, is such a sweet place. And after your visit, let us know what you think! We would love to hear what you have to say about the entire experience and what you think of our little business!

XO,
Andrea

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