We recently connected with Miray Diner and have shared our conversation below.

Miray, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Our store is called 4moon, my Name is Miray meaning of moonlight so, Moon always had special place in my heart and once I moved to Moab I was obsessed with sky date and night cuz sky is in Moab the best you can ever have. Moab also has one of the darkest nighttime sky. I knew our store name had to have something from sky. After researching all the stars name and I really wanted to be “moon” then for the moon then utilized “4moon” ‘

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

My name is Miray. I am originally from Turkey and have lived in Moab, UT for the last 10 years. I have been interested in hospitality since I was young. I started learning about hospitality in high school and then earned my bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management before coming to the United States. After graduating from University, I wanted to improve my English while also learning about new cultures. I came to the United States with an internship program in 2012.

After a year-long program, I decided to stay in the states. I’ve worked at a few different restaurants and hotels in the last 10 years while living in Moab locally. While I enjoyed the work that I did, I always had a desire to run my own business. I started my entrepreneurial career by opening up a few partnered businesses in the food industry. Opening a souvenir shop had never crossed my mind before but after several years in the restaurant business, I was ready to try something new and exciting.

A friend had suggested looking into opening up a gift shop and after a lot of research, we opened our very first retail store 4Moon. We then bought and took over the Moab Trading Post known as Canyonlands Trading Post. I wanted to create a souvenir boutique where tourists can buy one-of-a-kind souvenirs to always remember their trip to Moab! With this idea, we offer our guests a unique customer experience to remember Moab in the best way.

I love what I do and where I live and I love being able to share that with my customers.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I came to the United States, I worked as a server in restaurants for 10 years.

I didn’t actually have any retail experience. But I was not shy to ask around to everyone how to do this business such as other retail owners, friends of friends, suppliers. What makes 4moon unique cuz, we are trying to work with local suppliers and small businesses all over the world.

I spend most of my time finding different items to offer customers, we wanna combine today’s fashion while keeping them Moab/Southwest style.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

i run the business with my husband

Contact Info:

• Instagram: 4moonmoab
• Facebook: 4moonmoab

Image Credits
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