We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sharon Richard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sharon below.

Sharon , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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.

For as long as I can remember I’ve dreamt of having a gift store. While working full time for a local school district in 2019, I started to work Sunday afternoon in the store to “get a feel for it”… Then in 2020 sadly the owner of the store passed away unexpectedly leaving the stores future in uncertainty. Covid had taken its toll on a lot of small businesses but Tulip had managed to hang in there. I found out that unless someone was going to take over the store it would close within the year. My husband and I believe ” that things happen for a reason’’ so we felt like it was what we should do. I quickly reached out to the previous owners family and we made it happen. Taking over April 1st of 2021 when health restrictions were still in place but there was finally there was a glimpse of hope. The excitement we got from all the loyal customers was lovely. It reiterated my decision and helped me solidify the idea that we did the right thing. Everyday since has reinforced our beliefs that things and timing happens for a reason.

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

I am from Scotland, I moved to Denver in 2001 to marry my husband Brian. I was a hair stylist and salon owner for several years before moving here. I continued working and managing salons in Denver for quite some time, before starting our family. I’ve always had a keen eye for art and love interior design. I’m a people person for sure and being a stylist you get to meet so many different types of people and build relationships and catch glimpses of their world. Dreaming of a gift shop wasn’t too far out of my realm.

What sets our store apart from others is that we are unique and we support/promote over 20 local artists. We have jewelers, watercolorists, oil painters, mixed media artists, fused glass artists, potters, knitters, card printers, and soap makers. When you visit our store you will find one-of-a-kind gifts. Our customers love being able to buy something beautiful and handmade. We do carry some of our own inventory and we are very selective in that process. We try to support other small businesses, women/family owned businesses, and organizations that help others in need. There are plenty of options to help worthy causes, such as children’s education, business supporting women and helping small remote villages throughout the world learn a craft to become self sufficient. Commit2Change and Fair trade are just couple of organizations that we are affiliated with.

We promote community and build relationships by hosting “meet the artist” events every 2-3 months in our store. We invite two of our local artists to feature, put together an artist biography and pictures of their work/craft. We promote the event through customer base and social media outlets. Our events are typically on a Saturday afternoon where customers are able to come in, enjoy a glass of wine and meet their favorite artists. Our customers love it, and it’s a wonderful opportunity for our artists to make more connections. It is also a great opportunity for me to get to know our artists one on one and understand their work. It’s a fun couple of hours and the energy and buzz in the store is exciting and contagious. I love this part of having my little gift store.

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

I met my business partner/husband in May of 2000. I was in Denver visiting some friends who shared mutual friends and met at a barbecue. It was the latter end of my vacation too so definitely a whirl wind. I returned to Scotland and my salon business. We spent the next 3 months chatting on the phone long distance for hours and running up huge phone bills. We knew very quickly that we had something very special. I returned to Colorado in September and stayed for a few weeks all the while we were figuring out how we could be together and which one of us wanted to make the move. Brian was open to moving to Scotland but I had already been having thoughts of making a move and change in my life for quite some time. So it was decided that I would move to Denver. We started to put plans into place as soon as I returned to Scotland. Many more long distance phone calls… By the end of the year I had sold my home and had my business up for sale. Brian flew into to Scotland the day after Christmas 2000 to meet my family for the first time and help me pack up my house. January 9th we left Scotland to pursue our new life in Denver. March 31st of 2001 we skipped town and got married. 21 years later we are as happy as we have ever been.

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

When I purchased the store, part of the agreement was the customer email list that the previous owner had spent years building. This was her primary source of marketing in the digital world. She had very little online presence in a world driven by social media. My husband and I made it our goal to create much more of a social connection with our customers. We have increased our IG and FB postings gaining more followers. We continue to use our email database to inform our customers of upcoming events and we have re-branded the Tulip logo and revamped the website. I don’t feel that there is one “most” effective way for our little store to grow our clientele however being more proactive and trying to make a name for ourselves and become more interactive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tulipgiftsandcards.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tulip_gifts_and_cards
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tulipgiftsandcards
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/KYfkH3akNFBxRnmZguVgng