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Simplicity In Mind

Simplicity in Mind, West Palm Beach, is a lifestyle boutique founded on the minimalist’s approach to life. Identify the essential, eliminate the rest. Owner Rachel Calvelli designed the shop and hand makes the window and shop displays, frequently changing them. There is a uniquely curated selection of handmade merchandise, mainly produced from small vendors throughout the United States.

The Shop

 

What year established? Simplicity in Mind was established in June 2016.

Genre? We are a women’s apparel + lifestyle boutique selling apparel, accessories, and skin care.

What are you famous for? We are famous for selling hand made goods, and apparel that support a cause or a charity.

Where is product sourced? The majority of our products are made in the United States, we also carry a clothing brand that hand makes their fabrics in Ghana using a wax printing technique called Batik

What makes your shop unique? Our products are unique to the area of West Palm Beach because we are the only local clothing/ accessory boutique in the area. Our merchandise is carefully curated to appeal to creatives rather then the mass majority.

Who are your customers? Our customers are mostly local creatives, women in their late 20’s and 30’s who own businesses or work in a creative field. Students from the local colleges also shop in our boutique, majority of them are in some sort of creative field as well.

 

The Shopkeeper

 

Who inspires you? Athena Calderone, from Eye Swoon is a major inspiration to me. I love how insanely creative she is and makes anything she touches beautiful. Her personal style is so effortless and I just love the way she designs her homes in New York.

What inspires you? I am definitely influenced by Scandinavian design. I love anything with a contrast. Scandinavian designs definitely have a perfect balance of minimal/ modern and vintage.

Before I was a shopkeeper, I….  I was setting up pop up shops, building visual displays, and merchandising clothing/accessories for retail shops.

The hardest lesson learned in starting a business? The hardest lesson I’ve learned from opening my business is staying patient during the slow business days. My shop is still so new, and growing everyday. Trying not to get discouraged when business is slow was difficult for me at first and still is!

What task do you like to delegate? At the moment I am my only employee. However in the past, being in a management role I was always the hands on type. I only delegated tasks when absolutely necessary. I like to lead by example, I think that is so important for managers and business owners to be able to relate to their employees and do the small tasks too.

The best lesson you have learned opening a shop? The best lesson I’ve learned opening a shop would definitely be how to buy for every customer but still staying true to my aesthetic.

Your advice for anyone wanting to open a shop? Some advice I would have for some one opening a shop is stick to your vision! Do not try to please everyone. So many people will try to give you advice or make suggestions (which sometimes can be great) but at the end of the day it is your shop and your vision. Do not hinder your creativity.

Which famous person would you like to visit your shop?  I would love to meet Sophia Loren. She is such a fashion icon from the 50’s and I am obsessed with anything vintage from the 20’s up until the 70’s. I would love to just talk to her about what it was like living during that time.

If you weren’t a shopkeeper you would be…   a forensic scientist.

What is your perfect day off? My perfect day off would be sleeping in, going for coffee at a local coffee shop, and spending the day wandering the city taking photographs of all the local street art in West Palm Beach. Or going back up north to New York or a small lost in time town to explore the shops and restaurants. I love wandering around with no purpose or destination. You always stumble upon the best things.

Five favorite shops: My five favorite shops are The General Store, California; Mercantile Home + Apparel, Sarasota;  Artists & Fleas pop up market, Brooklyn & Manhattan; Moonlight Radiance, West Palm Beach; and Reservoir & Wood, Beacon, NY.

Favorite neighborhood coffee shop & restaurant: My favorite local coffee shop in West Palm Beach is Subculture and my favorite local restaurant is The Alchemist. Both of these spots remind me of living up in New York.

I wish I could… inspire people to go after their dreams.

 

On the Future of Retail

“I feel as if people are starting to veer away from large big box store fronts and are starting to either shop local or shop online. I think a lot of people now like that personal connection when they spend their money in a small shop. It’s a different experience and your getting a better quality of customer service. I think a lot more people now can appreciate that more so then shopping in the mall where there is literally no connection between company and consumer.”

Simplicity in Mind

200 S Olive Ave & 1500 Elizabeth Ave Unit C, West Palm Beach, Florida

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