We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Theresa Mucelli a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Theresa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

The vision for a sustainable fashion boutique popped into my head after I had signed the lease on a commercial space. I knew I wanted to provide products with a mission, but I wasn’t quite sure what that mission was. I have always been a champion for environmental causes. Sustainable fashion had been on my radar of causes that I was happy to champion in the form of a local retail shop. From there, I began to look for sustainable clothing brands to bring into the shop all while preparing the physical space. It was important that I created a space that reflected Ardently’s mission. I quickly discovered creating the space was easy, but finding products to fit the mission was a bit of a challenge. Fast fashion has really dominated the boutique realm for so long. Fortunately, I was able to source sustainable styles–it just took a bit of time! I started out with a small collection when I opened. Since then I have been able to add to the collection.

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

I jumped into entrepreneurship from a dream I had always had along with a lifelong desire to make a difference. My background has minimal relation to my business. It has been fostered purely from passion. I started my career in furniture retail then moved into the flooring industry as a merchandiser. None of that soothed my need to make a difference. So I opened a sustainable fashion boutique local to St. Louis. Most sustainable fashion was online, so I was happy to offer a brick and mortar location for those passionate about sustainable fashion. With Ardently, I really strive to shift the dialog around making a positive change in the environment with how someone dresses.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Ardently opened in July of 2020, shortly after we were coming out of complete shut down in St. Louis. Business was incredibly slow, but I honestly had no clue what to expect when I opened. There were days where it was such a struggle to motivate myself because business was so incredibly slow. I learned from local business owners that it was not normally so slow in the neighborhood. It was knowing that it would get better that kept me going. Business is increasing steadily and I am so happy that I did not give up!

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Absolutely! There were slow times in the beginning where it was a struggle to cover costs. The bank account would hit the floor, but it took a lot of trust in my business to not let my self mentally hit the floor! After a weekend though, I would make enough to pay all those looming bills.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ardentlystl.com
• Instagram: @ardently.stl
• Facebook: Ardently
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ardently-saint-louis?osq=Ardently