Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Pintar

Hi Hannah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I grew up a Navy kid, so before I moved to Wisconsin I hadn’t lived anywhere longer than 3 years. When my dad chose Wisconsin as his place to retire, I was initially disappointed because I had only lived on coasts before. I thought I was going to hate it because it didn’t have the ocean! When we arrived I was shocked by the ridiculously humid summers, and then bewildered again by the sub-zero winters. Over the years I have grown to love my little slice of heaven in Wisconsin. It is green and gorgeous with lovely, kind people and with an abundance of care for small businesses.

As a teen, I thought I was going to be in medicine because of my parents’ careers. I started school with that intention and realized quickly it wasn’t going to be my path. I instead pursued Criminal Justice, and then went onto obtain my master’s degree in Homeland Security. My goal was to go back to a coast and be involved in Homeland defense or emergency management.

While getting my master’s degree, I got married and soon after, found out we would be expecting our first child the following Spring. I had this feeling that I would be so unfulfilled as a mother if I went down the career path I had intended on, but really enjoyed a side gig that my mom and I had started back when I was in college. She came to me and asked if I would like to pursue it full time, while I raised my children in a more hands-on way, the way I had always wanted. This opened up opportunities, one after the other. Soon enough, we were opening our first boutique. And 2 years later, we are in a full-blown 2400 sq ft space with home decor, women’s clothing, our hand poured candles, and my interior design office.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Small business isn’t for the weak of heart. It can be grueling and at times it can cause arguments with the ones you love. Finances are typically what has been the hardest part, especially in a business like ours because retail can be so seasonal. But as time has progressed the wrinkles have ironed out and we have discovered how to operate in a smooth way (for the most part).

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I am one of two owning partners at Natty West. My strengths are aesthetics, social media marketing, business development, and events. I have an artistic eye and can visualize very well exactly how I want things to be. So because of this, I am often the one who is doing event planning, coming up with graphics for the store’s sales or events, and doing social media posts or editing them. This also means that I do things like trend forecasting, creating packaging for our made-in-house products, suggesting new product types, and refining the styles that we carry. I also have taken it a step further to now offer interior design services! I have created a sister business called, Rosemary Abode, which offers commercial and residential interior design, and my studio is located inside our boutique.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?

We have taken some big risks, in knowing absolutely nothing about business or retail, and then going ahead to open a retail business, take on rent payments, loans, etc. to make it all work. We also did it for no pay for the first several years so that of course was a large risk and of course, it put more pressure on my husband to bring in income for our growing family. In face of this risk, we have come out on the other side to a community who has done nothing but support us at a level we never expected. We have been so utterly blessed by our community.

Pricing:

• Hand poured candles up to $36
• Clothing items up to $60
• Locally made leather goods up to $275
• Home decor starting at just $10 or less
• Vintage items as low as $5

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nattywest.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopnattywest/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopnattywest/

Image Credits

Hannah Pintar, Owner