Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelsey Metzinger. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kelsey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

I think Covid has influenced trends immensely in retail, especially local retail/business. The pandemic pushed people into online shopping for their staples more often. Yet with locally owned retail, people are craving that “in person/find something special” moment with human interaction. In addition, customers are more apt to spend money locally these days because they saw how not doing that really changes the landscapes of their cities and towns. And in a more industry specific way, my category, which is what I call a “lifestyle” shop. The pandemic, kept people in their homes and they spent more money on things that either made them feel good, like a scented candle or things that were simply more consumable, like hand soap and they ran out quicker.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I love to shop! All my jobs have been in retail, and my favorite activity has always been shopping, seeing what’s out there, seeing what’s not. Wichita, KS has not always had a plethora of great local shopping, it’s changing for sure, but definitely 17 years ago, when I started the shop-there wasn’t much. I have always traveled to larger cities and wanted to open a shop that reflected the products and vibe of my favorite shops in NY or Chicago.

In addition, a large part of my business has always been hand making bath products and candles. And as that following grew within the shop, eventually it took on a life of its own and my product line Splendid Alchemy is found in more than a dozen boutiques and spas across the country.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I worked as a display manager for a large company and had always been that friend that helped decorate friends’ homes, or made floral arrangements for someone’s wedding–I had gotten busy enough with it, that I just kept taking jobs while opening and working at the shop because it was a good stream of income. Plus in the back of my mind, every job I took was building my resume in case the shop didn’t work out. Just recently I had an epiphany…I was exhausted, mentally and physically, so I started giving myself permission to say “no” to taking on new jobs or clients. I am close to 2 decades into owning the shop, the dream became the reality and I probably don’t need a fallback career anymore-LOL.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I manufacture a large range of products that I sell in my shop, online and in other businesses. In addition, I do private label products for boutiques, spas, boutique hotels and yoga studios. One of the main components of my business has always been small batch, handmade bath and home products–I had always dabbled in making products like lipbalms and candles for myself and for gifts–this was before you could google anything, so there was a lot of trial and error. But I had a basic knowledge of what ingredients did what because I was obsessed with beauty products from a young age–coupled with being highly allergic to a lot of them, it made me thirsty for knowledge on how to make my own.

I had a small workshop set up in the backroom of my shop for years and eventually found myself tripping over boxes and not being able to order my raw materials in bulk because I had no room. Fast forward to 2021, I ended up building a garage and workshop onto my house where I am able to receive pallets of glass and store raw materials, which allows me to keep costs down. Having the room to properly store and manufacture my goods has probably been the most pivotal moment in my business so far.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bungalow26.com
• Instagram: @bungalow26
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bungalow26.com

Image Credits
Sarah Jane Silver