I really can't believe it has been 18 years. When I started back in 2003, you never could have convinced me that I would still be around and that we would have grown as much as we have. I have such fond memories of that tiny little shop at 115 Royal; I mean, we didn't even have a point-of-sale system. We wrote out all sales tickets by hand and then entered them in a spreadsheet each night. I had no idea what I was doing. I don't really know how we stayed in business the first three years. We probably should have closed up shop. But, we didn't, and we survived the 2008-09 Global Recession and actually expanded in the middle of it.

Moving The Shoe Hive to 127 South Fairfax was the best decision we ever made. It helped us grow and really taught me how to run a business. It took time, and I still learn every day, but the expansion helped us figure out so many things. In 2016, we took another leap of faith and expanded to open a women's Ready to Wear Store, The Hive. The support we have received for this tiny little spot has been remarkable. Every year it grows, so much so that it has gotten pretty difficult to shop in there some days. There are waits for dressing rooms, and sometimes there are so many great things on the racks that you actually can't even see all the great things! So, once again, we have found ourselves expanding.

This fall - hopefully in a few weeks - we will open The Hive down the block at 315 Cameron. There is so much more space so you can shop and actually see everything. I am sure it won't be perfect when it opens, but we eventually will get there. And just like all things, I am sure it will evolve and change over time. We can't wait to bring in more lines and have a broader selection. We also finally have office space in the basement and a place to fulfill our growing web business.

So much has been happening we almost missed our 18-year anniversary! Last year, I was thinking how great it would be to throw a big party in 2021. Well, my general contractor's job has taken up the time I had allotted for my party-planning job, and those plans are put on hold. The construction has taken over, but once we get the new space opened, we will throw a great big party! But for now, we are celebrating with the second-best thing to a party: we are doing 18 percent off all purchases starting Thursday, October 21 through Sunday, October 24. We also had to have a gift for the anniversary! We have the cutest gift with purchase, a custom Shoe Hive baseball hat!

We are so thankful to all of our customers and the Alexandria community for helping us stay open for 18 amazing years.