The Retail Whisperer

This week we are very excited to interview Anna Harris-Lyons. Anna founded ANNA+POOKIE after years of being disappointed with the lack of diversity in party supplies. For many years, it had been impossible to find party characters or themes that represent black and brown children. ANNA+POOKIE Party Supplies is the only black, female-owned shop dedicated to providing party supplies created for children of color.

In 2017, she began developing a product line of party supplies. In 2018, she launched ANNA+POOKIE, which features brown-skinned, curly-haired, full-lipped characters that look like an underserved demographic in the party supply industry. Their current themes include a Mermaid, Ballerina, Princess, Superhero for girls, and a pirate and Superhero theme to celebrate boys!

Michelle & Anna jump in and discuss her journey in creating this amazing line. She is incredibly passionate about creating products that empower children. Their party supplies help them cultivate a loving self-image, boost their confidence, and show them that they deserve space on the party store aisle. Her business is small, but her company mission is enormous. She is dedicated to changing the face of party supplies forever!

She truly is inspiring and we are so grateful she took time out of her busy schedule to chat with us.

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On this week’s episode, we welcome Ashlan Christoph, mama of two, business owner and Modern Muse. Ashlan is an owner of multiple businesses, and has worked to create retail spaces that not only inspire her customers but feel good to be in! First creating Serendipity Gift Shop in 2012, a beautiful retail space that became the go-to for gifts in the Studio City, California neighborhood. She began expanding in more esoteric ways in her personal life and it became mirrored in her businesses. In June 2019 she opened Muse House Retreat, a space that focuses on connecting the community with tools and guides to help them along their own inner journeys. It was followed by the opening of Casa Muse in 2022, a space to hold intentional events and further help others connect with their healing journeys.

She's a mother of two boys ages 8 and 20 and is also the host of her own podcast called "Becoming Muse."

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Ark Made was created out of the back office of The Ark Bookstore - Santa Fe's metaphysical wonderland for 40 years. Leighann Huberman, co-owner of Ark Made, had been a buyer and marketer for The Ark for a long time. Joanie and Tsering (Ark Made's 2 other Co-Owners) were, and still are, the owners of The Ark Bookstore. People kept coming in and looking for ways to cleanse their space without having to burn herbs, so they created their Crystal Aromatherapy Mist set - and they were a hit! A rep saw their products in the store and urged them to get a catalog together. She taught herself Photoshop and InDesign and put together a catalog. Soon they had shops from all over the Western part of the US looking to carry their products. Fast forward 5 years and they have grown into a whole separate company and are now in hundreds of retailers within the US... and even some internationally.

Ark Made really strives to put a sprinkle of magic into people's lives through our products. They believe that education is extremely important, and want people to dip their toes into the magic that they have to offer confidently. Whether it is cleansing, working with crystals, or igniting an intentional candle, they make it so that folks can feel confident through education and step-by-step instructions - and they can reap the benefits of a positive experience.

Light a candle, turn down the lights and get comfortable as Leighann & Michelle discuss the creation of Ark Made, living in Santa Fe, Ark Made’s switch to Mountain Sage, twin flames, balance, crystals and much, much more.

This week’s episode is sponsored by Fine Lines Showroom, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in LosAngeles, LasVegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gift, fashion + home lines. 

Use the promo code PODCAST (all upper case) at checkout to save 10% on any order on EGG . One time use only. Good through 8/15/22.

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‘Breathing Life into Your Brands Mission, Vision & Values with the Power of Visual Storytelling’

After taking her first few years out of college in the traditional agency route, Kaila felt restless… like her cup wasn’t being filled to the top. She had a vision, and she knew the kind of clientele she wanted to serve. She wanted to take her two favorite things—dogs and design—and create something that nobody had done before. Something big, bold, and most importantly, drool-worthy. And so, Dox Design was born!

Today, she is proud to lead her fearless team on a mission to create strong, compelling brands that flaunt their clients’ stand-out qualities in fun and daring ways. Together, they work together seamlessly to create #droolworthy brands and design for people just like you: the dreamers, the doers, and the design obsessed.

Michelle & Kaila go through the steps on helping clients identify their brand and the fact finding steps involved. For anyone looking for some hot tips on creating your brand, this is a must-listen-to episode! 

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What started out as Instagram live interviews to stay connected with people during the pandemic, then evolved into a podcast concept and here we are 1 year later, over 6000 downloads and over 50 episodes! This week’s episode is a #solocast with Michelle talking about lessons & stories in launching her podcast 1 year ago – the good (sponsorships!), the frustrating (lost recordings) and what the next year will look like. Hint: Exciting stuff! 

Thank you to all our listeners. We would not be here without your support and for that we are grateful.

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Show season is upon us and we are so excited to have Cindy Henry, Vice President of Buyer Engagement, who leads the team that is responsible for bringing retailers to all IMC markets: Atlanta Market, Atlanta Apparel, High Point Market, Las Vegas Market & Las Vegas Apparel Market, as our guest this week!

A veteran of the gift and home industry for over 20 years, Cindy also served as Executive Vice President for a gift and accessories vendor for 17 years and managed sales, new products, operations and HR. She has been with IMC for six years. As Vice President of Buyer Engagement, she leads the team responsible for all buyers including Key Accounts and Buying Groups and Juniper, IMC’s new online marketplace. An active member in the gift and home industry, she has held leadership positions as secretary on both the boards of directors for the Gift and Home Trade Association and the Gift Sales Manager Association. At the Gift and Home Trade Association, she was awarded the President’s Award for Enthusiasm, Dedication and Leadership.

On this episode, Michelle & Cindy cover topics that include, but not limited to, buyer services, temps, IM Center’s new Juniper Market, differences between the two buildings and all things show related! For those of you who have never attended a show either at High Point, Atlanta or Las Vegas, this is the episode for you! 

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This week’s guest is Tyler Tolson, CEO and Founder of Denik, a designer notebook and lifestyle product company that uses a portion of its funds to build schools and support artists. He started the company in 2011 as a full-time student at Utah State University. The company has blossomed into a multi-million dollar brand and serves customers like Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and Target in over 16,000 retail locations in North America. Denik also produces custom notebooks for brands like Nike, Disney, Google, TikTok, Uber, and Obey. The Denik community has funded 6 schools to date- 1 in Laos, 1 in Guatemala, 1 in Ghana, 1 in Nicaragua, and 2 in Mali, Africa.

Tyler has been named as “Young Emerging Leader” by the Leader to Leader Institute in New York, and was selected as "Top 40 Under 40" leaders in the Gift and Stationery Industry. Tyler currently serves on the Entrepreneurship Center Board at the Huntsman School of Business. During the last eleven years he has taught and trained audiences of various capacities, and has consulted entrepreneurs, students, and artists at all stages of business. However, Tyler's greatest accomplishment is marrying the girl of his dreams and raising his 4 rockstar kids.

Michelle & Tyler discuss how Denik began, building schools through proceeds, finding artis and how Denik continues to show the world that 'Art Can Change The World.' 

This week’s episode sponsored by Fine Lines Showroom, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in LosAngeles, LasVegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gift, fashion + home lines.

For those looking to schedule a mentoring session with Tyler, here is the link.

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Born and raised in 29 Palms and having always dreamt of creating a unique place for other locals to grab a last minute outfit or gift without stressing on breaking the bank or making the inconvenient drive out of town, this week’s guest is Danielle Stumbo, owner and creator of DonahlueClothing Co, a locally focused women’s clothing & gift boutique located in Downtown 29 Palms, just outside of Joshua Tree. She spent the first half of her career in corporate retail and in 2014, fell in love with small business and knew that she ultimately wanted to focus and tailor her talents to a smaller and more niche crowd. She has held just about every title in the retail and fashion industry but identifies most with visual merchandising. Once the pandemic hit she decided that she wanted to spend more time with her daughter, so she created a space where she could utilize her love for retail, serve her community, while also spending the time with her family that she craved – Donahlue Clothing Co. was born.Pronounced Donna-Lou, the shop is named after and inspired by my grandparents who resided in 29 Palms for over 30 years.

Some topics Michelle & Donna cover are her love for her local community, opening her store during a pandemic, her buying strategy and her store design aesthetic. Check out our YouTube channel to see her amazing wallpaper!

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This week we welcome Sean Jimenez / Director of Sales & Marketing for Socksmith. Sean, a former retailer, now turned wholesaler, who’s been in the industry for over 25 years. He now manages 40+ sales reps for a great, multi million-dollar novelty sock and design company, Socksmith, based in Santa Cruz, California. 

During his 25 years in the industry, Sean has built apparel programs for Fortune 500 companies, worked and managed entire design teams for large private label programs, worked in off-price and have sold everything from Hawaiian shirts to $50,000 stereo systems. He has met a number of characters over the years, has made as many friends as possible and try to live by the rule, "never say no, there's always a way, try to be kind to everyone you meet, because you never know when you might need them, and you can never have too many friends."

 As Michelle & Sean are both veterans in the retail industry, they cover all kinds of topics from the crazy days of ASR (Action Sports Retail Show) & MAGIC, how different the shows are today, work commutes, owning their own retail stores & hilarious stories regarding buyers negotiating terms at shows.

Sean was such a delight to interview and we are sure you will enjoy this interview as much as we did!  

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After living in Haiti for five years, Tara moved to Minnesota. When she left Haiti she wanted to make sure she stayed connected to the country and bring the beauty she saw there to the world, thus Cedar and Cypress was born. It began as a small retail website and grew into wholesale, learning and growing from so many people around me in the industry. Cedar and Cypress Designs partners with independent artisans in Haiti. Through customer purchase and support, they are in turn able to purchase and support their artisan partners in Haiti. They are proud of their partners and the artisans in Haiti.

Some topics that Michelle & Tara cover are her deep connection with Haiti, missionary work, her hand-crafted artisan goods for the socially aware consumer and how that is creating jobs.

Be sure to watch this episode on our YouTube channel to see some of the gorgeous jewelry pieces that Tara is wearing!  

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To shop wholesale you can find us on https://cedarandcypresswholesale.com/ or on Faire https://cedarandcypressdesigns.faire.com and Fashion Go

To support our work in Haiti, our partner Miquette's organization is TeacHaiti and can be found at https://www.teachaiti.org

and Papillon has amazing products and also offers wholesale at https://papillonmarketplace.com

You can find us at the Apparel Markets for June of 2022, Atlanta, 3rd floor Booth 300 and Dallas in our brand new showroom Goldn, Floor 13-13652 

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