The entrepreneurial drive runs strong in my family- and it seems it’s reached its fourth generation! Grandpa owned a sign company, my Dad runs a Home & Landscape, Mom- Health and Wellness, and here I am with a photography business. If you’re counting, that only makes three generations, but there’s one I have yet to mention…we will come back to that later. With this drive comes a variety of ideas and dreams but let’s be honest, not every idea comes to fruition and that’s ok, but there was this one…

In January 2022 I noticed there is A LOT of talent and in-home businesses or ‘side hobbies’ in the area, I wanted to find a way to get them into the public eye. Well, when I was a kid my parents participated in 1-2 craft boutiques a year and I remember sitting in the basement helping seal the bags of screen-printed calendars, notepads, and grocery lists, and putting price stickers on the backs of hand-painted décor. It got my siblings and me involved in ‘the family business’ but looking back, I think it also gave me an appreciation for small businesses. There is SO MUCH time, effort-physically, emotionally, mentally, and money that goes into getting these mom-and-pop shops up and operating, but also to stay running behind the scenes. I have a lot of respect for those that give it a try- it’s not for the faint of heart. What does this have to do with anything? Well, because I had a small part in the boutique preparations I decided I could put something like that together for the area. Oh boy.

I started by reaching out to a handful of small businesses and creatives in Grace to get a gauge interest-wise and the response was overwhelming. That small group of women have no idea the impact their encouragement and excitement had on me. Who would have guessed they would be the fuel to my fire? Oh, I am so grateful to them! At first, I figured we could get 20 vendors in the space, and when August rolled around I thought that was as many as we would have interested( at this point I hadn’t publicly announced that we were even hosting one…). I had one 5×10 space available when my husband piped up with an idea of his own. Our daughter had been learning how to sew for the past year+ and had recently made a set of burp cloths for our new baby, as well as for her aunt’s new baby. We thought she could make and sell more if she wanted to have a little spending/saving money. Craig’s idea was to finance her start-up costs- booth fees, material, etc and she would sew a variety of items under the direction and watchful eye of her sewing teacher- a very special individual we call ‘Poppi,’ Mercedes Grandpa. Yes, my elementary-aged daughter was about to start her own side business. Mercedes recruited her Grandma (my mom) to design and set up her booth display which also brought in her ‘Papa’ (my dad) when we decided to use their old boutique booth display walls!

This was no simple effort, each member of the family contributed to her success and in the end, she paid back all her start-up costs and still had money to invest in savings, as well as more material. WHAT A GIRL!!! It’s been an incredible adventure to behold. Through it all, she was able to learn how to make a plan, and finance skills- she did all the accounting at the event, and she learned how to talk to people about her products- scary when it’s a big group of strangers! and she put in the time to make and package her products. We figured she sewed five days a week, from August-October, for two hours each day which would be around 100+ hours of sewing. This girl is starting to understand what it’s like to run a small business and it’s been so good for her! In case you’re curious, she made burp cloths, neck warmers (that double as cold packs), hand warmers, mother & daughter waist aprons, mug rugs, and even a handful of hair ties.

People are amazing, there are people who will give up everything to be a blessing and when those people pull together, great things happen. I saw it happen within my family to support their granddaughter, daughter, niece, sister, and friend. I saw people pull together to help clean up after the event, people who made ‘exceptions’ so that we could make this event happen in the first place. It was a weekend I will never forget.

While there was a long list of details from start to the finish I learned a lot, and I will say that if you think I came out of this making a profit, let me take a second to laugh…It was a lot of fun, but my goal was not to profit for myself, it was more of an experiment to see if Grace could really host a successful boutique and I will say it surpassed my expectations, it was so worth it!

So let’s review, we held the boutique for two days and had over 20 different vendors participate, we were able to see friends and family, meet new people and even pick up a few new clients. It was fantastic! After it was all said and done, it was time to review…

What Worked?
-We also designed and handed out 300+ Grace Business directories (and you can still obtain a copy at Sam’s Market, 3C Grill, Rigby Plumbing, London Drug, or All Good Things).
-Advertising on Facebook DAILY especially on local classifieds/news pages.
-Vendor highlights- were a fun way to showcase who would be participating.
-Hosting in a central location- main street Grace where people naturally passed by while running their errands.
-Having a variety of ‘crafts’ rather than multiple repeats. Each vendor was unique and with that came unique products!

Potential Changes
-Consistent isle space (this got a little tricky with some of the support poles).
-More advertisements in local papers & on social media
-Larger hosting space
-Explore the possibility of food vendors

There is plenty to think about for the coming future of the Grace Boutique, I hope it will grow, and I hope it will become an annual tradition for our community to look forward to. I loved being able to showcase so many shops in our area in one room, and I truly hope you were able to get out and support them! Thank you to the community, thank you to Grace High School for being willing to house us for the weekend, Scott & Beth Buxton with VividArt Printing for the booklets, and flyers, thank you to Jodi & Jodi with Signs By Jodi for the large banners and all those small businesses that we willing to contribute financially to make sure this event happened!

BIG THANK YOU to our vendors:
81 Eighty
Bellame & Airmojii by Stacey
Caribou Caramels
Country Prim
Diamond H Boutique
Dream Catchers by Olivia
Ecker Leather
Hannah Tomkinson Earrings
It’s Sew Cute by Mercedes
JHK Leather
KB Creations
Kodiak Creations
Kristyn’s Craftroom
Loaly
Lower 21
Mandy Williams Art
Pop’s Shop
Red Aspen by Holly
S&M Honey
Signs By Jodi
Simply Made Boutique
Sugar Box Bakery/All Good Things
The Little Dress Shoppe
Usborne by Samantha
Western Jewelry

IF you would be interested in participating in the Grace Boutique in the future OR being a part of the Business directory, please follow this link and I will make sure I add you to our contact list! https://forms.gle/E4SiM7CyZ2aBQn1e6

To keep up with the latest news and updates on the boutique, make sure to like and follow our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087139822100

P.S. Somehow I missed snagging a picture of a few of our vendors at the event I apologize!

Have you seen our most recent family session? It’s absolutely perfect, one you won’t want to miss, and may even leave you inspired to get your own family portraits scheduled this year! Follow this link to check it out: https://mikennaatkinson.com/crookston-family/