Recent Episodes

Sara Villari is the owner and creative director of Occasionette, an award-winning gift and card shop with four locations in the Philadelphia area. Occasionette ranked among the 100 fastest-growing businesses in the Philadelphia region in 2019 and 2020. Prior to opening the first Occasionette location in 2013, Sara was one of the first employees at Etsy.com, working as a community manager for the e-commerce site. From pandemic store openings, private labels, creative merchandising, holiday dec...

This week we are so excited to welcome guest Sara Stonecipher, Owner/CEO of howtorunaretailstore.com, helping entrepreneurs go from startup to success, no matter what part of the journey they're on. In 2011, she started her own small business journey with $17K in savings, inspired by her mom’s retail consignment store, & opened her own store–MISRED Outfitter, a vintage store. Today MISRED is an all new clothing boutique, specializing in everyday clothing and handmade accessories, for women of...

Michael Schultz is the co-owner and creative eye of Cursive New York, which operates 2 stores in New York City. Cursive is a tightly focused concept with the simple mission of cultivating joy. Michael, along with his husband, Douglas Duncan, have established Cursive as a strong and forward voice in the industry. Cursive offers gift, stationery, home and lifestyle products and is constantly evolving. Cursive operated in New York City’s iconic Grand Central Terminal for 11 years and within ABC Car...

If you know Michelle, you know the holidays are her favorite time of the year. The music, the lights, the smells...all of it! On this mini-episode, Michelle gives listeners a quick look into what her holiday setup schedule looks like and how she manages to keep it together through it all. MC Design Collaboration

Abbey & Courtney are both co-founders and business besties of Duo Collective, a boutique organic marketing agency specializing in social media strategy, branding, SEO and coaching for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. We are obsessed with finding ways to help you grow organically without needing to spend a dime on paid ads. With 20+ years of combined marketing experience, Abbey & Court discuss with Michelle the different ways a small retail business can grow their business, el...

This week, we are thrilled to welcome Amy Loewenberg, Senior Relations Manager for NY NOW, SF NOW & American Handcrafted. Amy considers herself to be a champion for people, for product and for paving new lanes for mutually beneficial and treasured relationships that celebrate the love for what we do and why we do it. This is her past, her present and her future. Her passion for product grew exponentially when she returned to NYC and was purchasing for an iconic NYC paper and gift store known ...

This week’s guest is Melissa Kanarek, a couture upholsterer and seamstress by trade who lives in the Santa Ynez Valley part of California, where she operates her Brass Tack brick & mortar. Melissa’s work, along with the pieces she buys, is imbued with a strong sense of story. She believes who makes it and how it is made are equally important to the object itself. An admitted travel junkie (56 countries and counting), the globe is an unending, evergrowing moodboard for her endeavors. Michel...

This week we are so lucky to have Dale Rhodes - Senior VP of Katin USA, as this week’s guest. Dale’s path to success began at 17 years-old, when he worked in the retail industry at MGA (Guess Jeans), CampBeverly Hills, and Val Surf. It came naturally for him to style celebrities and work directly with clients. It was then – during the hot trend of Guess in the 80s – that Dale paved the way for his future accomplishments in the apparel industry. With a breadth of knowledge in marketing and man...

Kerrie Fitzgerald the founder of Kerrie Fitzgerald LLC - an ecommerce and product business consulting & educational agency, and host of top 100 marketing podcast- The 6 Figure Product Business Podcast. As a digital marketing expert, Kerrie helps e-commerce businesses create “wildly in demand” brands that their customers are obsessed with. After starting her first high-end pet e-commerce business, The Dapper Dog Box in 2016, she grew the business to multi 6 figures of revenue in two years without...

This week’s episode guest is Matt Katzenson, CEO of Fines Lines Company. Fine Lines Company began in 1989. Paula Abdul had just released her smash hit “Straight Up”, and they had just launched their first 8 x 10 ft. trade show booth featuring 4 brave manufacturers that believed in a couple of cocky upstarts. Today, with permanent showrooms in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Seattle, as well as a sales territory that ranges from New Mexico to Alaska, you might say they’ve grown a bit since Paula pe...

After over a decade working in advertising agencies on both Madison Avenue in NYC and in Los Angeles, Meredith turned her passion for marketing to retail marketing and merchandising when she and her husband Michael, a pharmacist, purchased the historic Fair Oaks Pharmacy in 1990. Together they restored it and added the iconic soda fountain which became an instant success along Route 66 and the site of a host of numerous television and movie shoots. In 2010 Meredith and Michael bought Webster’s C...

This week’s guest is Laura McDowell, a leadership coach + strategist & founder of Laura McDowell Creative, who specializes in helping entrepreneurial businesses love what they do. Take a listen as Michelle & Laura breakdown, how you, as a business owner, can find new ways to increase revenue, generate leads, and finally achieve your next-level business goals utilizing the EOS system. Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn TikTok Resources

Michelle is back this week with another Solocast to talk stories & lessons from a life in retail, the inspiration for this podcast. She touches on gift & apparel shows, not looking in the rear view mirror, why worrying about what others are doing is pointless, pushing the envelope creatively & a reminder to NOT expand too fast. Grab a notebook, a refreshing drink & find a quiet room. You won't want to miss these tips cultivated from 40+ years in the retail industry.

Lindsay Foster is a personal development junkie with a passion to share her stories of retail, recovery, and resilience with everyone in her life. Lindsay is a student of the industry and began her days of retail in Coeur d' Alene Idaho at the age of 15 while working alongside her Mother at the Original Penny Candy Store. Lindsay went on to study Sociology at Brigham Young University- Idaho after which she received her license in Cosmetology. As a young adult Lindsay battled with a disease that ...

Back by popular demand, we are so excited to welcome back Fabian Navejas, Gift Merchandiser & Buyer for A.C. Vromans Inc., one of the oldest independent bookstores in the country, 128 years old. In addition to working at A.C. Vromans, he is also the Founder of Onederkam.com, which is a small eCommerce gift and home accessories store. His side hustle! On this episode, which we are calling a ‘merchandising roundtable”, Michelle & Fabian jump right in to talk about ALL things merchandising. This is...

Botanic and Luxe started in 2016 as a brick and mortar boutique in Santa Cruz, California. Created by two best friends with a passion for design, beauty, and a holistic lifestyle. At Botanic and Luxe you will find just that - thoughtfully curated home goods, unique gifts for any occasion, natural skin care, and our favorite home accent: plants! They strive to support local makers, fair-trade organizations, and products that we absolutely love and believe in. Everything they bring into the shop h...

We are so excited to have Kelly Morrison, founder of Create Your Affiliate Program (CYAP), as this week’s guest. On this episode, Kelly & Michelle breakdown exactly what an affiliate program is, how to create a profitable affiliate marketing program, and how retailers can utilize affiliate marketing to push online sales and help make more income and more impact by leveraging the power of affiliates. And while Kelly founded Create Your Affiliate Program in 2018, she is not brand new to running s...

This week we are very excited to interview Andrea Harris-Lyons. Andrea founded ANNA+POOKIE after years of being disappointed with the lack of diversity in party supplies. For many years, it had been impossible to find party characters or themes that represent black and brown children. ANNA+POOKIE Party Supplies is the only black, female-owned shop dedicated to providing party supplies created for children of color. In 2017, she began developing a product line of party supplies. In 2018, she l...

On this week’s episode, we welcome Ashlan Christoph, mama of two, business owner and Modern Muse. Ashlan is an owner of multiple businesses, and has worked to create retail spaces that not only inspire her customers but feel good to be in! First creating Serendipity Gift Shop in 2012, a beautiful retail space that became the go-to for gifts in the Studio City, California neighborhood. She began expanding in more esoteric ways in her personal life and it became mirrored in her businesses. In June...

Ark Made was created out of the back office of The Ark Bookstore - Santa Fe's metaphysical wonderland for 40 years. Leighann Huberman, co-owner of Ark Made, had been a buyer and marketer for The Ark for a long time. Joanie and Tsering (Ark Made's 2 other Co-Owners) were, and still are, the owners of The Ark Bookstore. People kept coming in and looking for ways to cleanse their space without having to burn herbs, so they created their Crystal Aromatherapy Mist set - and they were a hit! A rep saw...

‘Breathing Life into Your Brands Mission, Vision & Values with the Power of Visual Storytelling’ After taking her first few years out of college in the traditional agency route, Kaila felt restless… like her cup wasn’t being filled to the top. She had a vision, and she knew the kind of clientele she wanted to serve. She wanted to take her two favorite things—dogs and design—and create something that nobody had done before. Something big, bold, and most importantly, drool-worthy. And so, Dox D...

What started out as Instagram live interviews to stay connected with people during the pandemic, then evolved into a podcast concept and here we are 1 year later, over 6000 downloads and over 50 episodes! This week’s episode is a #solocast with Michelle talking about lessons & stories in launching her podcast 1 year ago – the good (sponsorships!), the frustrating (lost recordings) and what the next year will look like. Hint: Exciting stuff! Thank you to all our listeners. We would not be here w...

Show season is upon us and we are so excited to have Cindy Henry, Vice President of Buyer Engagement, who leads the team that is responsible for bringing retailers to all IMC markets: Atlanta Market, Atlanta Apparel, High Point Market, Las Vegas Market & Las Vegas Apparel Market, as our guest this week! A veteran of the gift and home industry for over 20 years, Cindy also served as Executive Vice President for a gift and accessories vendor for 17 years and managed sales, new products, operati...

This week’s guest is Tyler Tolson, CEO and Founder of Denik, a designer notebook and lifestyle product company that uses a portion of its funds to build schools and support artists. He started the company in 2011 as a full-time student at Utah State University. The company has blossomed into a multi-million dollar brand and serves customers like Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and Target in over 16,000 retail locations in North America. Denik also produces custom notebooks for brands like Nike, Dis...