It is hard to believe it has been 19 years since I first opened The Shoe Hive in a little nook on 115 South Royal Street. We have come a long way since then, expanding from one store with 500 square feet to three locations with more than 4,000 combined square feet. I never had it planned to go this way; I am not that organized or thoughtful. I am more of an opportunity knocks kind of person and a tad too blissfully ignorant to worry that things might not work.

What I do know after 19 years is that I love being part of the small business community in Alexandria, and I really love working in retail. I don’t think there is anything else I would rather do - other than maybe being a backup singer for Tina Turner, but if you’ve heard me sing, you know that is not in the cards.

As I sit and reflect on 19 years, I can say with confidence that I know why I do what I do. Really there are two reasons: the first is the people with whom I get to work, not just in the store but also our vendors. I have formed amazing relationships with these people, near and far. What is even better is that the people that have worked in the stores together have formed lasting friendships with each other. Long after they leave the stores, they are still close. This is my greatest accomplishment - not that I caused the friendships to form, but I think we have created a place that is more like a family than a business.

This approach drives how I associate with vendors and fellow business owners. I have learned that I really only want to carry lines where the people who run them are in it with us - willing to collaborate or work with us to succeed. I have discovered that this isn’t always the case - and the pandemic really drove it home. Being a small business owner has its challenges, so I decided that dealing with folks who make it more challenging really isn’t worth it - and now I only stick with the lines that see us as partners.

In purely business terms, I am lucky to still be standing after all these years - coming through two recessions and a pandemic. I am fully aware this survival is due to the great people we have and, of course, the loyalty of the people who shop with us. So many clients have become my close friends - only after meeting them through the stores. There is nothing I love more than working the floor, and that’s usually how these meetings happen. So often, people say they never seem me “in” the stores anymore - which is true due to the sheer time it takes to manage the business behind three storefront doors. Placing all the orders, paying all the bills, planning the events, writing Stylebook, and just the general day-to-day management has become my full-time job - along with laundry and driving my kids around.

But I know that I am one of the luckiest people around. You could not find a more supportive community than Alexandria. So as a thank you for allowing me to keep my doors open for 19 years, we have planned a lot of great events for our anniversary this year. This is more of a customer appreciation week than anything else. We joined forces with some other great local businesses that we love to help us celebrate. Come join us for flowers, nails, ear piercings, and shopping, of course.

*Disclaimer: when signing up for piercing please be sure to select a time slot on Saturday, October 15 from 11am to 3pm. Piercing and jewelry fees apply.