{moxie} was born in 2008, after a devastating breakup and a vision to bring something different to my hometown. There have been many high highs and low lows over the past 15+ years, but nothing as difficult as the announcement I am making now.
My passion was and is helping women feel good about themselves, to help them dress in the grief of a funeral, the celebration of a wedding, the excitement of a job interview. Nothing fills my soul as much as someone coming out of the fitting room, a sparkle in their eyes and a smile on their face with an exclamation of – “ I feel so pretty/good/comfortable/happy” (or the best one)--”I feel so ME!”
The expansion in 2019 was a risk that paid off better than I could have hoped due to the high volume of foot traffic on Howard Street, and I was so excited to grow the business, start to host in store fashion shows, community events, and have the space I needed to add new lines of merchandise. I poured time, money, sweat and heart into this expansion and I felt it deep in my soul that this space would be the space {moxie} was meant to spend the next 30+ years. Unfortunately, we all know what happened next.
The smart business decision might have been to close in 2020, or in 2023 after the initial high of shopping in person again wore off and customers retreated back to online shopping. I had so much belief that brick and mortar retail would rebound that I took out loans to stay afloat, invested personal and family money, and put my own health and wellbeing in last place while I tried a million different ways to make this new reality work.
The current reality is however, that in 2024, people's habits have changed. 2800 square feet of retail space and product is not as sustainable as it once was. Longer hours are not the answer, and investing more time and money won't magically increase the foot traffic needed to maintain the shop long term.
I have fought hard since the beginning to advocate for shopping small, held on through the tougher years and rejoiced over the better ones, always saying that “well, it all evens out” or “I’m pretty stubborn, I can make it through.” I’m proud of the years that I have had, proud of the friendships I’ve made and the smiles I’ve put on people’s faces. But the time has come for me to end this chapter so I can move forward and finish the book.
The brick and mortar storefront will be closing mid-August, so that I can have the time to sell down merchandise, pay off loans, and start fresh. There are a million other things to say, as I get ready to say goodbye–stay tuned for sale info and a few “last hurrah” collections/events as we wind down. As of today, the majority of the shop has been marked down, with an extra 25% off clearance and remaining regularly priced items. Some pieces may be reduced further as we come to the end, but the regularly priced items will transition to the website after we close the physical store.
This was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make, but after attempting to announce this numerous times over the past few months, now that I have I am really confident and at peace with it. It has truly been an adventure that I have loved, hard times and all.
Xoxo
Suzanne