Owner Kathy Axelrod in her shop, Simply Selma's. Photo by Jessica O. Swink.
By Jessica O. Swink
Small Business Insight
Take one step into Simply Selma’s in the Prominade shopping center in Virginia Beach and you won’t get very far without being greeted with a smile and a warm welcome.
This, combined with brightly colored shelves filled with hand-painted art, picture frames, home decor and designer jewelry, almost makes customers experience a sensory overload of positive attitudes upon arrival.
“It’s very important to us to have people feeling good when they come here,” says owner Kathy Axelrod.
Axelrod opened her doors 14 years ago in memory and honor of her mother Selma, who passed away from breast cancer.
“This store hopes to epitomize a graciousness that Kathy has tried to bring into this store,” says store associate Meg Leeman. “To surround with beautiful objects is not just a frivolous thing. You can actually bring happiness, contentment, thoughtfulness to a person’s life, and it’s very much a part of what we do.”
And business is good.
To give an idea of the store’s growth, the ladies compare the store’s initial location in Ghent to its current location. A total of 120 ornaments were ordered for the store’s first Christmas. Now the staff spends two solid days at the January buying show specifically buying nothing but ornaments.
The staff of Simply Selma's. Photo Contributed.
“We went high-end when there was a vacuum in the area of businesses that had closed,” Leeman says. “We looked at this as, if we can hold on, we have the opportunity to fill that void and make ourselves known to reinvent ourselves once again as a place you can come to find wall art, mirrors, lamps, and end tables … accent pieces for your home that make it pop.”
And throughout the downturn of the economy, Simply Selma’s has certainly shined through. Store associate April Stutz explains why:
“No matter what happens with the recession or the economy, babies are born, weddings are planned, birthdays are celebrated, and anniversaries are celebrated. While we are a boutique, we are a gift shop, and at the end of the day, people know they can come in and get a gift from $12-$2400 and have it wrapped beautifully.”
This business plan is one Axelrod and her staff don’t plan to duplicate, though.
“I love what we do, we do too. If you have something somewhere else, you’re going back and forth, back and forth,” Axelrod says.
The hesitation lies in putting the business in someone else’s hands.
“You ask yourself, ‘Is it going to have that same magic that Kathy brings?” Stutz says. “She says everyday that this store is what it is because of the people that work here.”
At the end of the day, the staff of Simply Selma’s agrees that the store is simply too original to duplicate.
“The bottom line is, we’re control freaks!” Leeman jokes.
It’s obvious the staff at Simply Selma’s has a fun time working, and often refer to themselves as a close family.
“We love what we do and continue to have a good time,” Axelrod says.
