Life Update + The Ultimate Guide to Your Boutique Pop-Up Shop

I can’t believe I haven’t posted since 2020, but I’m back and ready to update y’all!! To be honest, I didn’t even realize I haven’t posted for ~3 years~ (what?!), and so much has changed in those 3 years. The two most notable things: we had another baby – a girl this time! – who just turned a year old in August, and we packed everything up and moved from Austin to South Carolina. A lot more has happened in between, but mainly I’m back to share and update all of my fellow boutique owners on what’s been going on since I started Sugar & Spice Apparel in 2018.

As you know, pop-ups were – and still are – a huge part of my journey as a boutique owner. 2021 was my best year for pop-ups and thus, the best year for S&S financially, as well. In 2021, I felt like I had fully come into my own as a boutique owner – it had been three years since I started my business, it had survived through covid, pop-up events were back in full swing, and I really felt established in Austin and the surrounding areas. I was accepted to highly sought-after events that take years for some vendors to get into, I had formed a wide variety of connections with other business owners, and I had done a bunch of pop-ups at this point, so I felt super confident going into bigger events that I had never participated in. My most notable events – and those I’m most proud of – are The Nutcracker Market in Houston, TX, which amasses over 100,000 shoppers, A Christmas Affair in Austin, TX (25,000+ shoppers) and influencer Dani Austin’s Divi Launch event in Dallas, TX, in which she selected only 25 small businesses to feature their products at her event.

Fast forward to early 2022: I’m newly pregnant with our second child; we know we need to make a decision on whether we’re going to move back to the east coast or stay in Austin for the long haul. We love Austin, but both of our families, and most of our friends, live on the east coast. So we made the difficult decision to leave Austin and move to SC in May of 2022. While I still believe that it was the best decision for our family, it was the most difficult decision to make as a business owner. I finally felt like things were falling into place as I had figured out the best events to pursue – and if you do the right events, you can literally make your full salary in just 8 or so events throughout the year – I had connected with a ton of fellow business owners in the greater Austin area, I had two permanent brick and mortar pop-ups located in the Dallas area, and I had started an ambassador program that was booming. Moving to South Carolina meant starting completely over… I would say starting from square one, but that wouldn’t quite be true since I had all of the experience and knowledge under my belt from the first 4 years of my business. But at some points, it truly felt like starting from square one all over again, which was disheartening, to say the least!

Now after being in SC for over a year (right outside of Charlotte, NC), I have started to establish S&S here, too. I’ve done six pop-ups here so far and am currently in the midst of a rebrand. With all of these changes and splitting my time between work and being a stay-at-home mom to my one-year-old daughter, I figured now was as good of a time as any to continue another one of my passions, which is teaching other boutique and small business owners all of the things I wish I had known when starting my business. While I believe it’s never too late to learn, and that doing your own research as a business owner is vital to your success, I think that sharing the wisdom I have from both experience and knowledge of owning a boutique and participating in over 20 pop-ups could be incredibly beneficial to those that either have never done a pop-up before or want to elevate their pop-up game.

In the past I’ve shared some boutique knowledge and advice on my blog – and even on my YouTube channel (also have been MIA on there, but hope to continue that soon, too!) – but I decided to take it a step further. I wanted to share everything I know about having a pop-up: where to have them or how to find opportunities, how to best prepare, everything you need to bring, how to best set up your space and stand out amongst all the other vendors, and so much more. Because I know so many other boutique owners could benefit from such information, I started an Etsy shop so I can share with all boutique owners – and other small business owners too! – the most important things to know for your next pop-up. I’ve never charged for any sort of information before as I love to just share the knowledge that I’ve gained, but this was truly a piece of work. I typed out 40+ pages of must-know info for your next event and compiled it into an easy-to-follow digital guide that can be referred back to for any future event. If this sounds like something you might need for your next pop-up, or you just want to know more, you can find the guide here: The Ultimate Guide to Your Boutique Pop-Up Shop. Below is a little preview of the guide 🙂

I’m so excited for this new venture and to connect with other business owners! Always feel free to ask questions or leave comments on my blog posts and I will do my best to answer. I feel a little crazy adding more to my already full plate, but I’ve heard that when you feel the need to prioritize or organize your daily life – add more to your plate. Is this a real thing or am I a sucker for inspirational quotes? 🤣

Another Etsy product I’m currently working on is another full guide on *everything* you need for your pop-up. The greatest thing about this guide? I’m including links to every 👏🏼 single 👏🏼 product 👏🏼 in this guide from items as minimal as hangers, clothing racks, clothing hangtags, to bigger, more important items such as your brand signage, marketing materials, checkout stand, and some secret DIY supplies that are not a made-to-order product, but rather genius creations made by other boutique owners that will blow your mind. Be sure to follow my Etsy store if you want to be notified when this next guide drops! You can follow my Etsy store here.

That’s all for now! I’m excited to get back to blogging and will keep this page more up-to-date… promise it won’t be 3 years until my next post 🙃 Moving forward, my plan is to make the majority of my posts boutique and business-related. Maybe throw some trends and fashion in there, too. But as for more personal or family-related posts, I think I won’t continue sharing as much in that regard. Mainly because I wonder, do people even care?! LOL, but really. If you have other requests on posts, please let me know!