We were lucky to catch up with Reanna Lyons recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Reanna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
Once I decided that I wanted to start a retail business, it was important to me that it was named something meaningful and special. Republic Road in Batavia, IL is where it all began, where this business idea was born. It is where my family purchased our first home together and where we brought our youngest son home, who completed our little family. It is where we spent hours upon hours on home projects, gardening and learning how to maintain a small, older home that was rich in history. It is where we struggled, made memories and grew together.
A lot happened on Republic Road that brought us to where we are now. I knew that if we ever left, I would want this special place to continue to be a big part of my life every day, and so we named this brand Republic Road!
Reanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I began my career as an art teacher, mostly teaching middle school art. Having spent most of my life in creative arts (dance, music, coaching and teaching dance, as well as making and designing just for fun), I fell in love with my college art history classes and that determined my career path. After working in schools closer to home, I found my dream job, which ended up being pretty far away, making for very long days and taking time away from our only son at the time. Eventually I resigned and my husband and I purchased a home on Republic Road where I could have more time with our son and live closer to our roots. After settling in, I found a part-time position in wealth management where I was able to balance work life and motherhood, and that’s what I still do!
After our second son was born, I was feeling the itch for a creative outlet. I wanted something that would help support my family and work with my new schedule. A friend and I decided to try a few artisan markets together, but first saw an ad for a new brick and mortar coming to town that was looking for people like us. We quickly interviewed and signed the contract without a business name or much to sell and jumped into a joint venture, combining our individual businesses and began making home and holiday decor like crazy. Eventually I moved into my own space there and have been flying solo ever since.
On Republic Road you will find handmade and carefully curated pieces, both new and vintage. From home decor to gifts to jewelry to clothing to self-care products, we have a variety of pieces geared toward women, moms and children, mostly. We also support other female makers by offering handmade products from several other woman-owned businesses in the U.S., some of which are local to our area.
I have been told that Republic Road has a “vibe,” which I would describe as boho, light, woodsy, feminine, and vintage-inspired. It is important to me to create a feel-good retail environment and memorable experience. As a mom of young children, I know that alone time is scarce and highly-valued, so I try to create an environment that allows shoppers to escape the chaos of everyday life and lose themselves for a few moments in our peaceful space. Even though Republic Road is housed within a large storefront among many other makers and merchants, I start off nearly every morning tending to this tiny shoppe, trying to put my best foot forward. Hopefully the love and care I put into Republic Road shows.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
About five months after business began, COVID hit and the storefront that housed our business at the time was temporarily shut down. Thankfully, Republic Road was able to sustain status-quo entirely due to our own online sales through Facebook. Since most small retailers’ doors were shuttered, I think a lot of people felt the need to support local any way they could. When online sales boomed, our house turned into a busy workshop and I quickly learned how to ship and get gifts delivered in time for Easter and Mother’s Day that Spring. I did all I could to market this brand new business since it was still so new and the world in Spring and Summer of 2020 looked super scary. However, I was floored at the support Republic Road received from the community and am still grateful for that to this day.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
After the COVID lockdown and in person shopping was picking up again, Republic Road moved storefronts, essentially going from being a big fish in a small pond to being a small fish in a big pond. It was scary and hard (especially hard as we were shopping for a larger home at the same time), but I knew that the new location would be positive for the brand in many ways. However, I wasn’t sure if anyone would follow us to a new town and fairly new brick and mortar that was off the beaten path, if we would lose our customer base that we established over the past year, etc., but I was excited to work with and learn from the many new-to-me small business owners that probably shared the same hopes and dreams as me.
Thankfully, the risk paid off. Republic Road has called trend + relic, a multi-vendor marketplace in St. Charles, IL, home for over two years now. Since then, we have moved within this storefront a few times as the brand has evolved. While we have always popped up at artisan markets and other local retailers here and there, this is our flagship location.
Coincidentally, we also bought a home in St. Charles, so once again, our business and home are in the same town! The best part is that I’ve established more “shop friendships” with other women like me who just “get it.” They always inspire and encourage me as we navigate the small business world.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/republic.road/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/republicroad/
Image Credits
Nicole Paprocki Photography (family photo only)