We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Debbie Godbout & Liz Dzurinda a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Debbie & Liz thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

Because the Bexley House brand is very important to us, we made the decision early on to manage our own social media. Liz has taken point on this important part of our business. We started on Facebook and Instagram and have recently added TikTok to the mix. It is a considerable time commitment but has been worth it in keeping our advertising costs down while allowing us to stay present in our customers’ minds. By having one owner handle all of our social media from the start, we have built a strong brand our customers seek out while also consistently attracting new customers. It has been a slow and steady process, but engagement and followers have increased over the eight years we’ve been in business. In the past year or so, we’ve experimented with click-throughs, where a customer can click on an item in a Facebook or Instagram post and be taken directly to our online store to purchase. We’ve found however, most local customers prefer coming into the store to an entirely online experience. Which is more than fine with us. We don’t mind trying new things and seeing how our customers react. We know when we have a winner and lean into that and when we don’t, we just shift gears and try something else. But we do appreciate being able to make ourselves available to a wider customer base than our physical location and square footage allow. And it’s very exciting to know we are growing a national following.

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

Bexley House has a pretty simple origin story: Just a couple of neighbors upcycling furniture to use in their own homes. But the simple start grew into an addiction and our husbands gave us an ultimatum: get all the unpainted furniture out of the garages or else! Fairly soon after, we found ourselves a space to offer our painted furniture pieces and a variety of sign making classes. A couple of years later we found ourselves with our first store-front location on Main Street. Eventually, we added a wide range of home décor products to the ever-changing selection of upcycled pieces. All of which helped us develop an amazingly loyal customer base.

Our customers drive almost everything we do. They’ve shown us Bexley House is more than just décor. It’s a place to share and shop, browse and be inspired. And we’re so grateful for their support. They’ve followed us to larger locations, inspired us to change our focus from upcycling to décor, and continue to be endlessly supportive of whatever we do. Up to and including our latest foray into the world of online sales.

Whether it’s a customer’s first, or hundredth, visit to Bexley House, what we want most is for them to feel at home. We strive for a pressure free atmosphere. That’s why, after being warmly greeted, our customers are invited to take their time and look around. There’s always so much to see! We carry a wide selection of beautiful décor; hand-poured, custom-scented candles; an array of interesting textiles; jewelry; and pantry items from savory to sweet. And our inventory is constantly being updated.

This doesn’t happen by accident. We plan exactly what will be new on the shop floor each week as well as released online at bexleyhousenc.com. It all happens on the same day and our customers know it. They also know we don’t always offer multiples of an item. So when they see something they love, whether it’s instore or online, they don’t hesitate to purchase right then.

Though we may love the dynamic and exciting world of home décor, we are also very aware of how developing a personal style in the midst of changing trends can be overwhelming. And that’s why we’ve made it a priority our customers feel comfortable asking questions and sharing ideas. It’s the best way for us to assist them in transforming their own spaces. Being a part of that process is one of the most fulfilling aspects of our business.

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

Our story began in 2016. Debbie had relocated from Massachusetts and moved in next door to Liz who had been in the neighborhood since 2009 after spending several years in California. We have children close in age which naturally drew us together. And then we discovered a shared love of décor and upcycling.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Technically, our start wasn’t even a side hustle. We were refinishing furniture for our personal use. We began to comb estate sales for pieces to refinish. It didn’t take long before our garages and sheds were filled to overflowing. A friend who owned a hair salon offered us the use of a space in the building she owned. We used it to showcase our upcycled furniture and conduct painting workshops. We opened to the public once a month. It was then we began to think of Bexley House as a shopping experience. After outgrowing the space, we found our first true retail location on Main Street and started opening five days a week with bi-weekly workshops. And now we have a successful, ongoing business in the heart of Clayton with a growing online presence. It seems pretty amazing considering where we started.

Contact Info:

• Website: bexleyhousenc.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/bexleyhousenc
• Facebook: facebook.com/bexleyhousenc
• Other: email: [email protected] TicTok: tictok.com/bexleyhousenc