It was meant to be a kiosk, a tightly merchandised, space-allocated and plannogrammed 10′X15′ walk-in and walk around “mini-store”, not too different from Shamrock Chic’s very familiar yet innovative festival booths. Grids, shelves and hooks, held together with ingenuity and bungee balls, the occasional table and support pole. Colonie Center Mall in Albany will again host Shamrock Chic for the upcoming months, mid-November through mid-March. I am in the process of selecting items and layout, which will both have a very different look this year. Also, a version of this retail concept was planned for a Buffalo mall, but the plan fell through a few weeks ago. One of the corporate mall execs nixed it.
I liked having two locations last year, one in Colonie Center and one in Tuttle Mall in Dublin, OH. Dublin is a fun place, but preferring to be a little closer to home, I had selected Buffalo, for several reasons. It’s my hometown. I grew up there. I lived in the city until 1975, then went to college, and did not move back. My sisters do live in and around the city and I visit often. I have a nice retail “following” in Buffalo, through my years as a craft show vendor and more recently with the Buffalo Irish Festival. I had been solicited to be in the Walden Galleria, frequently, by the specialty leasing agent, who become “scouts” in December, when he first met me in Dublin, OH. Not wanting to let go of the opportunity, he slowly and methodically convinced me to open a seasonal in-line store. That’s retail speak for a REAL STORE, not a kiosk. Pricey, yes. Economic woes, indeed. But Walden Galleria is among the top 10% of malls in the country for sales and are 6% ahead of last year, in spite of the economy. And, the “icing on the cake”, as the leasing agent puts it, is the 40% Canadian traffic.
Am I a pioneer? Yes, and even the Chinese food restaurant placemats “year of the rooster” say so, in their description of the year of my birth! That aside, I am a creative, sometimes restless, risk taker, I guess. I am self-employed because I have known for a long time that I dislike doing the same thing for very long. There is always a new idea worth pursuing or goal that I feel challenged to attain. The creativity has been there since I was very young. Color sense and doing things with my hands has led to various crafts, then a business, and now a store. Working with color has been a constant theme and so has selling things made of cloth! Those who know my background do chuckle a little when I tell them that my most recent success is connected to an Irish them clothing line. I am 50% German and 50% unknown. My mother is adopted. In spite of my background, my Irish theme apparel line is becoming known nationally. LIfe’s a Stitch Embroidery, LLC, the parent company of Shamrock Chic, now wholesales to over a dozen Irish import stores and businesses across the country. Recently, magazine articles have been published about my business, and we were hand selected, without an application, to exhibit at the world’s largest Irish festival, in Milwaukee, WI.
On or about October 27th, I will open the first Shamrock Chic store, located on the 2nd floor of the Walden Galleria Mall, in Cheektowaga, NY, next to Fredrick’s of Hollywood and near Old Navy. A 1000 square foot store, with as much professionalism to the look as I can create. My clothing line will be featured. Those of you in the area…Please stop in and say hello!! And help get the word out…tell a friend! For those of you like me, who have avoided malls for years…yes, I do avoid malls…don’t be afraid!! The nearest parking and outdoor entrance is at DSW, then turn left and come see Shamrock Chic!!
