I met Wendy at her adorable shop on a very chilly Thursday morning. In all honesty, I had forgotten about our appointment until about an hour beforehand, I was so frazzled, and I almost cancelled, but I am so glad that I didn’t. Wendy is a born and raised Hollistonian (like myself), she welcomed me into her store with open arms (or, she would have welcomed me with open arms if it wasn’t for Covid) and we chatted about everything from our businesses, to parenting, to the school systems in town, to being 3rd generation Hollistonians.
Wendy worked in corporate America for years while growing her family. When she was let go from her job several years ago, she didn’t know what she was going to do. She had always been a working mom. With the support of her family, she decided to finally go for her dream of opening a children’s consignment store in her hometown of Holliston. This was a lifelong dream of hers and she was nervous, but she figured out what she needed to do, and soon her store at 300 Woodland Street in Holliston became a reality.
Wendy’s store has been open for about two years and what impressed me the most was her positivity and perseverance. A year after she opened, we were faced with a global pandemic and so many of us have struggled during the pandemic, including Wendy. Her store was forced to close for a while, but she kept going. She did online sales when she couldn’t do in person sales (photographing items according to customer requests). She did curbside pickup orders (when allowed) and shipped items to customers. When she was able to resume business, she reopened and couldn’t wait to welcome her shoppers back!
Wendy’s store is adorable - she not only sells very nice quality and excellent condition consigned baby/children’s clothing (up to size 3T), but she also has many custom made personalized items and handmade gift items. I don’t know of any other store like it in town, or even in surrounding towns. In addition to that, Wendy herself is amazing and has such a high level of customer service. I actually remember shopping at her store during her first year of business and I was looking for a particular size pants for my son - she went through all of her displays and pulled out everything in the size I was searching for. When I didn’t find quite what I was looking for, she even offered to go into her storage inventory and see if she had anything else. That kind of personal touch is hard to find nowadays! If you haven’t visited her store yet, I highly recommend it!
Before meeting Wendy, I sent her a list of questions to answer which allowed me to get to know her a little better, and will also allow you to get to know her too! Keep scrolling to see how she replied!
What’s the name of your business and where is your business located?
Twice Upon a Time
300 Woodland St.
Holliston MA
What type of business is it? A children’s consignment boutique
Tell me a little bit about yourself? I grew up in Holliston, where I still live with my husband Brian and my 2 sons Jackson (10) & AJ (19)
What has your biggest challenge been starting your own business? Covid!!! I had just celebrated my first year when Covid hit. The first few years are always challenging for small businesses, add in a pandemic and it’s been really tough.
What is your favorite part about running your own business? The flexibility! I can set my own hours and make them work around my crazy schedule.
What is one thing you wish you knew before getting started? Wendy didn’t actually have an answer for this when she submitted her responses to me, but when we were chatting she said she wished she knew how much of her anxiety would be gone when she worked for herself. Knowing that she can be available to her family when needed is worth any new anxiety she gained from starting her own business.
What advice do you have for anyone trying to start their own business? Follow your dream. Stick with your vision. Be patient.
Who is your role model/who inspired you to start your own business? This one is easy! My son Jackson! Jackson was born with Down syndrome. He was perfectly healthy at first, but began having health problems at age 2. He has now had over 30 surgeries, most of them orthopedic, which often require him to be immobile for several weeks at a time. I was working a full-time job, but it just wasn’t working with all of his appointments. I lost my job and really wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I had always dreamed of opening a consignment shop for children, I even had the name. One day, I jokingly said to my husband “I should just open my shop!” He said “Lets go for it!” Before I knew it, we were looking at spaces and a couple of months later I was celebrating the grand opening. It has been a challenging year due to Covid, but Jackson had taught me to never give up, even when things get tough!
Thanks so much for reading - keep scrolling to see some more of Wendy's adorable shop and some of her custom items!
Please give Wendy's Facebook Page a like (https://www.facebook.com/Twice-Upon-a-Time-222952375312910)!
Looking forward to sharing some other amazing women business owners with you all over the next several months!!
~so~