Today we’d like to introduce you to Vale Wiley.
Vale, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Wanderess Collections was sparked by my love of treasure hunting and appreciation for beautiful things! Treasure hunting has always been my favorite hobby. I’ve been a collector since birth, basically. No feather, string of ribbon or pretty rock was left behind on the playground. When I got my first car, I would drive all over town to hit up cool thrift shops, boutiques, flea markets and antique stores. I wasn’t able to take home everything that caught my eye but I would end the day with one special item and a million photos of things that inspired me. To this day I can tell the story behind those rings, shoes, vases, everything – where I found it, who sold it to me, who made it, why I wanted it. Sometimes I wonder if my attachment to “things” stems from the fact that I’ve moved around so much. But I know for sure that each new bedroom I decorated with my collection of stuff led me to love designing and decorating spaces! I could make anywhere feel like home. And every outfit I put together using my favorite finds made me feel confident and true to myself no matter where I was or where I was going. My passion for interiors and fashion grew so strong, I started to believe that it was my path. Going beyond the clothes, accessories and decor, the process of sourcing those items and styling them together was my favorite!
Being a shop owner fascinated me. It just made sense – I could source things, curate collections and bring them all to one place for other people to love? For a living? Yes, please!! Once I decided that I wanted to open a shop, I never lost sight of that goal. The name, Wanderess Collections, was decided before the shop was actually real. I came across the word “Wanderess” and instantly identified with it and loved how magical it sounded. The “Collections” part was a given! So, I started dreaming up what Wanderess Collections would be one day.
It was really important to me to have a physical brick + mortar location so I could provide an interactive and memorable experience to my customers. That in person experience is what started this journey for me, and while Wanderess Collections is also now an online store, I wanted to stay true to my vision and start with a storefront. I envisioned how Wanderess Collections would look, how it would feel to walk inside, what I would sell and how my company would make people feel. I hoped it would be empowered, confident, inspired and authentic. A brick + mortar first and online shop second is backwards from what most people do these days and called for a lot of patience. But that challenge is what motivated me every day to hustle hard, push through the uncomfortable, and absorb as much information as I could. I immersed myself in environments and jobs that I could learn from along the way and trusted the time would come.
One of the most special things about Wanderess Collections is that my Mom, Shalene, and I built it together as partners. We’ve always made a great team. We would talk over coffee every morning about running a business together, plan and brainstorm. Our visions paralleled perfectly and our plan slowly started coming together. When we found our brick + mortar location in Downtown Woodstock, we weren’t exactly in the perfect position to start a business but we trusted that the risk was worth the chance. So, we hit the ground running, learning along the way and rolling with the punches. We show up every day as a team no matter what the challenge is and that’s how we’ve made it to where we are today!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As with any journey, we’ve had many up’s and down’s. There are small daily struggles like delayed orders or blown lightbulbs and there’s huge problems like a global pandemic – but all are unpredictable. Expecting the unexpected can be exhausting so having the patience and perseverance to find a solution to each issue that arises is sometimes a struggle all its own. But overcoming them is what’s important and what makes a success story!
Please tell us more about the business.
Wanderess Collections is a fashion and interiors boutique offering trendy and vintage inspired styles. Our mission is to create a community of free-spirited trendsetters who spread good vibes and good style. Our fashion, jewelry, art and home goods are eclectic and fun with boho flair. Wanderess Collections is unique and stylized.
Each item in the store has been handpicked by us and sourced from both local and global artists and designers. We have furniture pieces from Bali and India, pillows from Morocco and jewelry from Tibet. We stock clothes made in the US by woman-owned design labels and clothes from brands people recognize and love! Our graphic tees are designed and made by us. We’ve teamed up with creatives from the Woodstock area so a lot of our inventory is handmade locally and supports other entrepreneurs, too!
Empowering others and our community have been a foundation of our business from the start. We’re a shop for the girls who express themselves in creative inspired ways and who encourage and support others to do the same. We host events that bring people together, partner with local charities and try overall to be a source of positivity!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I truly believe that good or bad luck, coincidence, timing, trust and divine guidance are one in the same. There are some things I’ve been through that I could claim were “bad luck”, but it was all part of the plan. When it comes to good luck, I try to seek it everywhere! I was raised to look out for signs, acknowledge them and trust them and I do. This question made me smile because Wanderess Collections has been backed by good luck since the beginning – all thanks to a little red bird. I mentioned how Shalene and I would talk about starting a business every morning over coffee. Well, each morning a little red bird would join us on the porch, too. He showed up like clock work every time we mentioned Wanderess Collections. Finally, we were like “Okay, weird!! What do red birds symbolize?!”. It turned out that Cardinals symbolize the fire and passions that burn in your soul and find their way into your life when you’re on the horizon of something new and destined for you. We believed it. If you ever come visit Wanderess Collections, look up! We have a cute little red bird sitting on our ceiling display that we can see from our desk. I think that little red bird brought us luck but also encouraged us to trust.
Contact Info:
- Address: 460 Chambers Street, Woodstock, Georgia 30188
- Website: www.wanderesscollections.com
- Phone: 6789961150
- Email: wanderesscollections@gmail.com
- Instagram: @wanderesscollections
- Facebook: /wanderesscollections
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