Today we’d like to introduce you to DeAngela and Jonathan Dothard.
DeAngela and Jonathan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In January of 2019, I had the idea to start our boutique after months of shopping with other local boutiques. I spoke to Jonathan about it and we both soon realized that there was a lack of African American owned boutiques in our area. After a month of researching, finding a name, and then finalizing all the paperwork we opened Crimson & White Boutique as a private Facebook group in February 2019. I am a die hard Alabama football fan, so the name stuck with me after a co-worker suggested it. After a few months of success, we decided to take our boutique on the road. Jonathan and a co-worker gutted the inside of a trailer and turned it into a boutique on wheels. We have attended various pop-up shops, school festivals, and other private events with our boutique. Today we have around 2k members in our Facebook group and several faithful customers from around the country!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has not been smooth. We have a ton of competition locally! There are some great boutiques in the West Georgia area. A few struggles are finding places to “pop-up” as a mobile boutique, managing a family of three children, and working full time along with running the boutique. We both are new to entrepreneurship so we have had to do a ton of research and learn things by trial and error.
Please tell us about your business.
Our business, Crimson and White Boutique, sells women’s clothing and accessories. We offer plus and regular clothing. In addition to our great selection of clothing, we are known for our monthly subscription box and other boxes. We also collaborate with other small business owners every other month to give them exposure in our popular “Collaboration Box”. Our most recent box, The Graduate by Crimson & White, offers graduates of any age a keepsake box! The box comes filled with three gifts for the graduate.
As a company, we are most proud of our customer service and quality clothing. We inspect every item before we ship or sell it to our customers. If the quality isn’t worthy of having our name on it, we won’t sell it.
Our teamwork as husband and wife sets us apart. We are a relatable brand. I am a former school teacher and my husband is a supervisor at a local manufacturing plant. We tailor to the working woman that may not have time to shop after work. The two of us select and sell the items to our customers. We run this business out of our home while working full time jobs and caring for three children (one with Autism). We also hand deliver purchases to the schools in the Douglas County School System.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My mother (Rosalind Lindsey) and brother (Eric Lindsey) in Anniston, Alabama have helped us tremendously with the boutique. My mom and brother make sure deliveries are handled when they arrive in Anniston. They have also been the best cheerleaders for our business. I also have four beautiful models Marquittia, Stephanie, Cotina and Angelica that show our Facebook customers some of the great items we offer. My former co-workers at Holly Springs Elementary were also some of our biggest supporters when we initially opened. Our largest customer bases are the wonderful ladies in Anniston (my hometown) and other areas in Alabama. We also have to give a huge thanks to our wonderful graphic designer Dee.
Pricing:
- Collaboration Box $60
- Monthly Subscription Box $45
- The Graduate Box $25 (empty keepsake) and $45 (filled)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crimsonwhiteboutique.com
- Phone: 470-244-0637
- Email: crimsonwhite19@gmail.com
- Instagram: @crimson_white19
- Facebook: Crimson&White Boutique LLC (Facebook Group)
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