We caught up with the brilliant and insightful CRYSTAL M EADS a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi CRYSTAL, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I think that anyone who makes the jump to pursue their dreams and step out on faith, is taking a risk. A risk that the business may fail. Failure can always be in the back of your mind, when it comes to doing something that cost money or is an investment. In retail specifically, you have to find your niche. You can open a boutique, but how do you turn that boutique into profit? How do you make your boutique successful? I believe with any business you start, you have to be willing to fail. You need to be able to dig deep,and realize theyre ups and downs in any business.

CRYSTAL, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Crystal Marie Eads Brown and I co-own and operate a small ladies boutique in downtown southern pines nc with my mother April Nayman. How we got into this business, is quite unique. I did not go to college, had been working in the restaurant industry for a while, and wanted to do something with my life, but I did not know what. I had this idea of opening a small cupcake shop in our downtown, because I had been traveling and was seeing a trend in small cupcake shops in the areas i visited. I looked at a few places, and found one I loved. Turns out, someone had the same idea as me, and there was one opening up in that exact spot if the landlord agreed to the terms. Well our town wasnt big enough for two cupcake shops. Now what? My mother and i were walking downtown one day, and i noticed a for rent sign in a window. I looked at her, and said what could we do here? We came up with a idea of a boutique together. 30 DAYS later our doors were open. We did everything ourselves. The construction on the inside, ordered everything online, and just went for it. This is where Marie & Marcele was born. The store is named after my mother and i , Crystal Marie & April Marcele. It took us a few years to find what really worked and what our niche is. Twelve years later, we are still operating our store downtown, in a much larger space than when we started. Our store is unique because its faith based. We partner throughout the year with different non profits, we carry brands that specifically give back or are fair trade. Our store has become a place you can come to share your worries, pray together, and find connection with other women who struggle with the same things you do. We provide a positive enviroment for you to bring your kids. Our goal is not just to make a sale, but to form a connection with each potential client that walks in the door. Our Motto is “Where Fashion Meets Family”. So many people in the world are hurting, and we are all wrapped up in our own crap. Its important that we remember that human connection and take time to lend a hand when someone is in need. Its more than just a store for us, its a community.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Connecting with people. Getting involved in the community. Showing my life, my face on social media. Being real with our customers. Transperancy. Not everything you see online is real, so making that human connection over the computer or phone was important in growing our clientel.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The biggest hurdle was definetly figuring how to navigate our business when covid hit. With shutdowns and restricitions, we had to be creative on how we generated sales for our business. We started doing live fashion shows, and shopping experiences, try ons, free local delivery and free shipping. We showed our face online mutiple times a week, and were honest with our clients about the struggle of paying our bills with our store being shut down. We started hosting weekly prayer time, because people were nervous to go to church , and some churches were closed. We made people laugh, and joked with our customers during the lives. We were able to grow our business even during covid, and found much success during a time when people were really struggling or closing down their business entirely.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://marieandmarcele.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marieandmarcele/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariemarceleboutique/