about hello em

"my mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor & some style." -maya angelou

 

I'm Jami. Wife, mama, stepmom, educator & self-admitted shop-aholic. I love a good cup of coffee, a girls night, trying new breweries with my husband, a park-date or art project with my daughters, watching a baseball game in the sunshine...or really anything in the sunshine- I've always thought I was born in the wrong state weather-wise. Although, nothing beats the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. 

My first ever job was in an adorable boutique in my hometown, where I fell in love with styling, creating displays, and all the glamorous sides of working in a boutique as a teenager. Retail has always been my therapy, shopping and styling clothes has always been something I've enjoyed. And shopping is a pastime my mom and I have spent many, many hours of our lives together doing. Owning my own boutique has always held a space in my heart and mind, but the realities of a brick and mortar store front have always made it seem like a pipe dream.

Enter 2020. The shopping experience moved almost entirely online and I saw that there were many women out there with small online only boutiques, running entirely out of their homes. The roadblock I had in my mind of a brick and mortar storefront with all it's complexities was no longer an excuse. The year of the 'Rona was hard on everyone, but one thing it gave me was clarity. Life is short. My kids are growing up quickly. I needed a day-to-day life that was going to be flexible and allow me to make my family the priority. No one was going to make that happen, but me. Call it a change of heart, a leap of faith....hell, call it a mid-life crisis! Whatever you want to call it, I felt it to my bones, that it was time for a change.

I started by just speaking my ideas out loud. To friends, to family, to people I trusted with my newborn idea. I just knew that people would call me crazy and tell me this was a bad idea, but what I received instead was an overwhelming amount of love, support, and confidence in me and my ambition. Women in particular were rooting me on and encouraging this seed in my heart to grow! Women were stepping up to offer services, knowledge, and encouragement.  I realized that part of my business model had to include women supporting women, because it was all these amazing women that were feeding my dreams and moving me forward on this journey. 

Taking this concept into my business means that many of the pieces you'll see in my shop are from women makers, creators, designers or women owned shops. You'll also find that I love to collaborate with other small businesses and strive to build a strong community of lady bosses supporting each other! 

When I started thinking about the concept of this boutique, I thought about the way that I personally choose to spend my money when it comes to clothes. I prefer items that are affordable most of the time because I like to stay on trend and have lots of options available in my closet. But, I'm also willing to pay more for items that are quality, will last through washes, and will stand the test of time, style-wise. I think you'll find that the collections I've chosen are mostly very affordable and cute styles, but that I am also curating hand selected, high quality, timeless pieces that will last in your closet for years to come!

Hello EM is named after my two daughters, Ellia & Maesa. The flowers you see in our logo are a rose and a marigold. They represent the birth month flowers of my daughters, my mom and I.  My girls' entrance into my life forced me to see, as all mothers do, that life isn't going to slow down, and that I don't want to miss a minute of it.  I want them to grow up seeing a community of women supporting women. I want them to see a mother who works hard and enjoys her job, but who always makes family the priority and always makes the time for them. I hope to teach them to live life with kindness, compassion, humor, hard work, and maybe some style. :)

Thank you for being here. Truly. Your support of my dreams, my little shop, and my family means the world to me. 

 

xo,

Jami