Today we’d like to introduce you to Meredith Eble.
Meredith, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a recent college graduate from Valdosta State University in the summer of 2008, I was looking for my first job in Atlanta in hopes to jump start my life long career. It was during a recession and a 23 year old college graduate with no previous corporate work experience wasn’t moving high in the resume ranks. Discouraged from my career dreams shattered I decided to pick up a part-time job to help buy me some time during my job search. I applied online for a part-time stylist position at fab’rik. I had only visited one of three locations open at the time in Atlanta and quickly fell in love with the brand and of course the clothes.
After working for only a few weeks, I was promoted to a full-time stylist and after four months, I was promoted to management. I felt at home at fab’rik, I fell more in love with the people I worked with and the customers I helped style day in and day out. I managed one of the corporate locations for about 3.5 years, I watched it grow both in e-commerce and in locations. It was a very tough time for retail and we were all doing our best to keep the retail brick and mortar alive. Watching the economic struggles and being directly effected by the loss of “luxury” spending it was a surreal moment in my career. We survived and we saw the upswing of retail over the next couple years. During these years I found love, got married and started to plan for my future. With much support from my husband, family, friends, and co-workers, we decided to embark on the journey of opening the first Atlanta area fab’rik franchise.
It was 2011, I was 27 years old and about to open my first business. I was scared, anxious, nervous but most of all excited, I felt fearless and fearful all at the same time. We opened fab’rik East Cobb in August of 2011, we hit companywide record-breaking holiday sales numbers and in 2012, we were the first fab’rik location to hit 1 million in sales. It took 90 hour work weeks, no days off, and the total grind to get there. Quickly after East Cobb opened its doors, a new project in Alpharetta was rumored to break ground soon. We signed on to open our second location in 2012 and officially opened our doors to fab’rik Avalon in October 2014. Avalon has been a second dream come true. We have watched the highs and lows of that location through construction and the phases that have opened over the years. Both stores are very different, challenging and rewarding in so many ways. This journey from the ground up for a company with Heart, Hustle, Wow and all the things that embody women today. I am now a mom of an almost two-year-old. He has brought a whole new meaning from being a girl boss to now a mom boss. This is tough, this is exhausting, but most of all this is amazing. I hope to help encourage women of all ages to chase their dreams, work for their passion and don’t give up on what makes your heart beat.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Ha! Smooth? definitely not. Owning a business brings its own daily struggles but at the end of the day, you are doing what makes your heart beat. You will get out of it what you put into it. It takes long hours, sleepless nights and all the emotions but doesn’t give up on your dream. If one door closes, another one will open, so keep pushing for those open doors.
Please tell us about fab’rik East Cobb and Avalon.
I am a franchisee of a women’s clothing store, fab’rik. While I may be a store owner, I consider myself a personal stylist first. I love helping women find their voice through clothing. Clothing can be a woman armor in a sense, there is something so powerful about feeling beautiful and sometimes that starts with the perfect outfit. fab’rik’s mantra is “high style, with heart.” I truly feel that working with heart and passion can set you apart from others.
What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
“You got this” it sounds so cliché but I tell myself 1000 times a day, “I got this.” Some days, I believe it more than others but it’s the one phrase that keeps me going. It’s not always easy and it’s not always going to go the way you had planned, but trust the journey and never give up. The hardest the journey, the greater the reward.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1311 Johnson Ferry Rd.
Suite 564
Marietta, GA 30068 - Website: fabrikstyle.com
- Phone: 770.509.3444
- Email: meredith.eble@fabrikstyle.com
- Instagram: @fabrikeastcobb
- Other: @fabrikavalon
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