How’d We Get Here? The Story of Our Shop

A few short years ago, A Mother’s Boutique was run entirely out of Judy’s home. When she envisioned her business, with a new mother in mind, she planned to bring the boutique to the mom. We all know how hard it can be to leave the house with a new baby, especially if we have other kids at home. So, originally, Judy visited new mothers and helped them find quality nursing bras and gear.heaps of packages

What she learned was that women frequently don’t know their clothing size or true bra size, or at least they aren’t sure what size they need for their changing bodies after pregnancy and during the early days of nursing. The bins and boxes she needed to visit customers were too unwieldy for house-calls – and as her selection grew, her ability to cart it around got much more difficult, so Judy started fitting women by appointment in her home.

As A Mother’s Boutique grew in popularity, online orders began flying in from all around the country. Soon, Judy was spending hours per day preparing packages, weighing clothes on her postal scale and heaping boxes on her front porch. When the breakfast nook was overrun with merchandise, the basement teeming with maternity clothes, and the hallway became an obstacle course, she knew it was time to lease some retail space!

A Mother’s Boutique opened the doors of their first showroom in 2010, complete with a small second floor for classes and other events. After teaching a Bradley class in the space one night, Jody Milholland found Judy buried behind a tower of packages–she had stayed at the store late into the night preparing orders for next-day shipment. Judy saw that she had grown big enough to take on some employees and asked, “Do you know anyone looking for some part-time work?” Turns out she did!

Gradually, Jody expanded her role at the boutique from shipping manager to inventory management and retail support, fitting moms for bras and stepping in wherever the business needs. As the boutique grew, Judy brought on a Shipping Manager to help with her internet and wholesale shipments – the position is currently held by Gabrielle Smith.

Judy says, “In the beginning, I imagined maybe 5% of my business would be online. I had no idea over 90% of my sales would be online!” Pulling, packing, and shipping orders to customers near and far is a crucial element of running A Mother’s Boutique.

A Mother's Boutique employee team

Our team! From left, Laura Lioy, Gabrielle Smith, Jody Milholland, owner Judy Masucci, Kirstin Pitini, Kelly McNeils, Katy Rank Lev (Not pictured: Amy West, Donna Tarkett)

Meanwhile, on the retail floor, business continued to expand until Judy was able to open a storefront right on Route 19 – the main through-way in Wexford! Foot traffic and sales have doubled in the short time the new space has been opened, and Judy has brought on Kirstin Pitini to take charge of fitting customers and assisting with floor sales. How does Kirstin manage to fit six customers simultaneously on a busy Saturday while also putting away the merchandise and finalizing sales? “I wear a lot of deodorant!” she says with a smile.

Behind the scenes, other mamas help A Mother’s Boutique flourish. Donna Tarkett keeps the store sparkling clean. Laura Lioy, graphic designer, turns out the designs for the baby t-shirts in addition to managing the logos and graphics for our advertising and web presence. Kelly McNeils, a health and wellness coach, runs the New Moms connections groups in the store every month. Amy West manages our online conversations as the social media manager, and of course I get to write about it all on the blog and in the newsletter!

The team has come together so flawlessly that this July, Judy took her first vacation while A Mother’s Boutique remained open for business. What a great journey for a much-needed business taking care of young families.

How long have you been with us as a customer? Leave us a comment to share where you’d like to see us grow next!

1 comment to How’d We Get Here? The Story of Our Shop

  • Kelly @ New Leaf Wellness

    Congrats to Judy on all her success! I love being involved with such a fabulous store and resource for moms!

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