We were lucky to catch up with Erica Briganti recently and have shared our conversation below.

Erica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I have always had a strong work ethic, but would say risks aren’t something I typically take. During high school, I balanced three jobs while intensely studying ballet six days a week. I wanted to be a professional ballerina, however, the unknown of career longevity and options beyond my dancing years was a risk I was too afraid to take. Instead, I decided to “play it safe” & chose to study accounting at Grand Valley State University. 12 years later, and I have had an amazing career being an auditor working at a major public accounting firm in Metro Detroit. I absolutely love my accounting job, however, for years have dreamed about being a boutique owner. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would take the risk & invest in myself & something that I truly am passionate about, but here we are! In August 2023, I decided to finally take a risk & open Starry Eyes Baby & Children’s Clothing boutique with my husband, Terry.

Erica, 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?

As I mentioned, this boutique was born out of my passion of being a boutique owner for years. I truly believe in shopping small & giving back to my local community & have supported some amazing women’s boutiques over the years.

After our boys Vincenzo & Giovanni were born, my husband & I were drawn to baby & children’s clothing & accessories. We know how special each & every baby & child is & take pride in procuring high quality, neutral trendy clothing to keep all their little starry eyes shinning. We sell clothing we would dress our own kids in, mom & dad approved for snuggles, play & everything in between! We carry clothing size NB through 9/10Y as well as accessories.

We named our boutique Starry Eyes because the sparkling glow of happiness, dreams and wonder in those little eyes inspire us each and every day to keep reaching for our dream.

In my opinion, what sets us apart is that we are just regular parents that are trying to build a brand for our boys, a community around that brand, as well as support local organizations. Every sale is so meaningful to us & we really try to connect with our customers on a personal level. We see all the love & support through our social media followers so far!

What also sets up apart is that we are very passionate about giving back to our community. We have specific collections where proceeds are donated to local organizations focused on helping families who suffer from the unimaginable of pregnancy and infant loss.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My co-founder is my amazing husband, Terry. We met back in 2006 & started dating in 2009, long distance while I was in college! We have built an amazing life together & something we discussed from the very beginning of our relationship was finding our passion, following that dream & owning our own business. At the time, we didn’t know what that business was, however, after having our boys, it all fell into place & made sense. I still cannot believe we are here following this dream, it still seems so surreal & I am thankful everyday I get to do this.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Social media has been huge for us connecting with our customers and fostering brand loyalty! With every new collection release, there is a live sale accompanied with it. That allows us to get in front of our customers, explain the products & why we selected them & field real time questions. We also have a VIP group on Facebook that allows us to share more personalized content, exclusive deals & really build more of a community around our brand. As I mentioned, we dress our own boys in the boutique clothes which shows our customers that we buy what we sell & truly stand behind these products!

We are very excited to be participating in several markets this year around the Metro Detroit area. These pop-ups will allow us to meet current & new customers in person & continue to build brand loyalty!

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits
Lonnie Horne