We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan & Kathy Bellucci. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan & Kathy below.

Megan & Kathy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

We’ve always bonded over shopping. Ever since I, (Megan), was little, my mom, (Kathy), would take me out of school one day each school year to have a mental health/shopping day. As time went on, we continued this fun tradition. When I started teaching full time back in 2014, we knew we had to maintain our tradition. We still make sure that we take time to shop together, but opening our own shop has always been a goal for both of us.

We started Wild Magnolia back in 2017. Our brick and mortar shop is located in Cape May County New Jersey. As a teacher, I really found a hard time finding cute clothing that would double as casual everyday clothing and work clothes. Cape May County turns into somewhat of a ghost town during the winter months, and our local mall is not what it used to be. My mom and I wanted to create a positive space for mother and daughters to shop and find clothing that both looks and feels good.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My mom and I have always been very passionate about shopping, and the idea of opening a shop together. When we opened Wild Magnolia back in 2017, we knew we wanted it to be a positive space for both mother and daughter to find clothing that looks and feels good on them. We carry sizes S-3X in our shop and although our storefront is located in New Jersey, we also ship anywhere in the United States.

As artists ourselves, we both take pride in the amount of women owned vendors, artists, and small businesses we work with. We are proud to not only offer some of our own artwork in our shop, but also offer lots of unique pieces, decor, and accessories that we find from other small businesses. We also really enjoy the small business feel, and although we have been shipping for over 5 years, we still take pride in sending each package with a handwritten thank you note.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

We use Shopify for our website and overall have been very happy with Shopify. It is very user friendly and there is always a help option whether it’s a phone call or a live chat. When we were first getting started, there were many tutorials to watch that were very user friendly. There are also so many great apps to connect with Shopify. Plus, from a brick and mortar aspect, we like how easily everything syncs to our physical shop.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think the most difficult thing, specifically for businesses just starting out, is the idea that you are creating your own brand. It can be so easy to get caught up in what other boutiques are doing, especially those that you look up to. I really envied a bunch of online boutiques and shops when we were first getting started. The hardest thing to do is set aside what works for them, because it might not necessary work for you.

Although it is one of the most difficult things, it is also one of the most rewarding, once you realize that no other business is you, and that’s your strength. When we first started, I hired out models to photograph our clothing, because I wanted it to look a certain way that I admired from other boutiques. What we quickly realized though, was that our customer based preferred to see US in our photos. When we do live videos, we almost always do them ourselves now. While it can be difficult to see others and want to replicate what you see, it’s important to only take inspiration and then fit it to your own style, so that it is authentically you and your brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: wwww.shopwildmagnolia.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopwildmagnolia
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildmagnoliaa
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wild-magnolia-clermont