A Year In The SHADE!

Me at my new job!

A year ago this month (March) I was hired at Shade Clothing. It was a part time job for me. Something to help with monthly income, & something fun for me to do. My kids were getting older, and I had been a stay at home mom for the better part of 18 years! I had worked a couple days a week in the Church office, but that was coming to an end. I had worked retail when I was younger & always loved it. The work & the clothes! :) A neighbor & friend of mine, Lori, knew I was looking for a new job & had a friend of hers. Emily, that managed a clothing store & knew she was looking to hire someone. So, she told us about each other. I gave her friend a call & she had me come in that week for an interview. We clicked right away. And she hired me.

Me with Emily, the manager who hired me, & my now friend!

Emily was great, & I really liked the job. Then a few months after I was hired, Emily moved away, :( she stayed with the company though, so I still get to see & talk to her from time to time. She recommended me to take over as manager of the store. It would mean going full time. I was honored & scared. After all there is a lot to learn to be a manager, & can you really teach an old dog new tricks? I was about to find out! They promoted me. Then decided to do their first ever all store inventory. Yikes. But we survived it. The store was in The Chandler mall. (about a 25 min. drive for me) And then after just another short period of time, they decided to move the store to The San Tan Mall in Gilbert. (less then a 5 min. drive for me now!)

The New Store, from the outside!

So within just a few months, I had to learn a new job, everything that goes along with managing a retail store, taking inventory, & moving the entire store to a new location! It was a whirlwind! But, a really fun one. I enjoyed every aspect of the job! Being the companies liaison to the community & our customers, the mall & the bank. I even had to learn how to interview & hire employees. Then how to review their work, making the schedules, this list could go on & on. I won't bore you with the details! :) But rest assured that I have folded more shirts this past year, than I had in my entire life before that! :)

Above & below: shots of the store at San Tan Village, from the inside!

Shade Clothing has been a company for 5 years now. It was started by a young woman who couldn't find the type of clothes she was looking for, so she designed her first top & sold them out of her house. Then they went to hosting home parties (think Tupperware party, but with T-shirts!) Then started using Kiosk's. And eventually opened the first Shade Clothing store. Their are now 7 stores! And we do a big online business as well. Check us out at ShadeClothing.com or better yet, come & see me at the store.

Cute isn't it?!

Shade started as a layering store, with all your basics: Camisoles, Tank tops, Cap Sleeves, T-shirts, all long enough, that you can wear on top of each other, for that cute layered look. And expanded from there. We now carry skirts, dresses, jackets, etc. And have a great swimwear line! It is a modest clothing line. Which, as the Mother of tween girls, I love! I hate that when little girls move into Jr. sizes, all they can find is clothes that are much too old for them to be wearing!

Me with some of my employees on Black Friday!
(Left to Right: Brittany, Taylor, myself & Olivia)

I even survived my first Black Friday managing a clothing store! It's been a hectic year. The hardest part of going back to work for me has been keeping the laundry done at home! But, I really love my job. And the Company I work for. So, Happy Anniversary to me! And here's to many more years together!