Greetings and welcome to my new monthly letter about the joys and perils of being a shopkeeper.  Owning my own shop is one of the biggest blessings of my life and I’d like to share with you some of the things  I have learned over the years.  I have worked in the retail world for 32 years, wearing many hats along the way:  clerk, bookkeeper, freight manager, store manager, regional manager for 33 stores, producer of a twice-yearly antiques & hand-crafts show called Brookhaven, and owner of my own shop, Penelope’s Hope Chest, for the past 7 years and counting.  I hope to talk about my mistakes and success stories, so please feel free to share stories of your own!

So here’s the first question–do you dress the part?  If you have a country shop do you dress in charming country clothing that reflects your shop?  If your shop is chic and Parisian, do you dress chic and Parisian?  It’s all part of the many layers that make your shop memorable and unique.  You personally should be one of the things customers remember when they think of your shop.  Think of your shop as a stage and you and your employees are the star performers.

A few months ago a customer told me a story about her experience visiting a shop while on vacation back east.  The friend she was visiting knew she liked little antique shops and tea shops so she took her to one that was a combination of both.  They shared a nice tea and she found the shop and the shopkeeper perfectly charming, but she was taken aback by how frumpy the shopkeeper was dressed.  She wore an unattractive sweater that had seen better days and a shapeless skirt with a noticeable stain on it.  No jewelry or make-up and uncombed hair.  Was it just an off day for her?  No, her friend said, this was the way she always dressed, and laughed it off.  However, it obviously made a big enough impression on my customer, to mention it several months later.  She felt the experience lost much of its appeal by being served tea by someone dressed, let’s face it, like a slob.

Your shop is a reflection of you, and equally, you are a reflection of your shop.  Try to have some fun with it–if you are having fun in your shop customers will too!  We sell lots of bling and vintage jewelry in our shop so I try to wear at least one or two pieces every day.  It’s great advertising!  We have three seasonal open houses every year and have fun dressing up for each–wearing pastel Easter hats for our spring open house and black vintage hats for our Halloween.

You can get away with a lot as a shopkeeper , if you dare.  Didn’t you love playing dress-up as a child?  Here’s your chance again.  You can be as whimsical or classic or sophisticated as you choose.  Channel your inner Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor.  Go modern or primitive or shabby cottage.  You can dress as you like–as long as you reflect the philosophy of your shop.