Recent Episodes

This week is a solocast with Michelle informing listeners on what exactly a merchandiser does & how they can help your retail business. From storytelling to creating add-on sales to reinventing merchandise, these are some topics that Michelle will cover in this episode. This week’s episode is sponsored by FINE LINES, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gift, fashion + home lines.

Allison Carter and Catherine Hildner were two strangers who connected at a conference, turned into business besties, and a few years later saw a gap in the product based business space and decided to take action to fill it. In addition to the two businesses they run individually, Allison and Cat are the founders and hosts of Ultimate Product Party (UPP for short!). UPP is a 2-day creative conference that serves product based businesses. Allison and Cat create a unique experience and space for th...

Hailing from North Dakota where her nearest shopping opportunity was over 300 miles away, Ashley Alderson longed for a place online to find and shop the boutiques she loved all over the country, together in one place. “There must be a place for shoppers like me who love boutiques to find them all — and a place, boutique owners, themselves, can connect to find resources & grow,” Ashley thought. Ashley’s background in business, marketing, and economic development fueled the desire to simply ...

We have received so many inquiries online and in-person on how to start a podcast. Sharing is caring and we here at Team Retail Whore Podcast, also known a Host, Michelle Sherrier, Editor Katherine Khaloo and Digital Marketing Manager, Elisa Anthony talk about the inception of The Retail Whore Podcast and what we have learned along the way, the good AND the not so good (lost recordings!), tips (create a podcast about something you are an expert in & passionate about!) and the resources we recomm...

This week we welcome Crystal Vilkaitis, founder of Crystal Media, a social media advertising and digital marketing agency she started in 2012. For more than 15 years, Crystal Vilkaitis has been helping retailers boost sales and drive more traffic through social media and marketing. Most recently she launched Crystal Uncorked, a podcast that features inspiring guests and interesting business conversations, over a glass of wine. She started the show to share open and honest conversations about her...

This month’s bonus episode is a show – Las Vegas Market & NY Now – recap. Michelle covers it all from showroom set-ups, the stress of being away from her family for an extended period, outfit changes & getting into buyer mode, being part of a podcast panel, participating in an Instagram takeover at NY Now and having an opportunity to meet some of our listeners and podcasts guests in person. Truly an inspiring trip!

This week we welcome retail icon, Iris Fuller, as a guest this week. After 20 glorious years of business, Iris Fuller’s glorious store, Fillamento, closed permanently in 2001. Fillamento opened in April 1981 and led the Fillmore District neighborhood renaissance in the San Francisco area as a successful commercial district. Take a listen as Iris talks the early days of Fillamento, taking on samples & consignment and how that evolved into curating the brand & how far-reaching her mentoring influe...

February is often known for being a month dedicated to and all about love. This week we are excited to welcome award winning designer Kimberley Evans, creator of the out the box brands such as Pop Up Weddings by Lovely Weddings and the I Do Box, an inclusive wedding subscription box. Michelle had the pleasure of meeting Kimberley at last year’s Ultimate Product Party event and was so impressed with her presentation and what her products represent, she knew she had to have her as a guest. Kimber...

This week we are thrilled to introduce to you Jane Park of Tokki, a company on a mission to ignite joy through gifting. They combine thoughtful technology with beautiful, reusable designs to make every gift unforgettable. Michelle & Jane, a consumer tech entrepreneur, delve into family, her father’s incredible story as a young immigrant from Korea, to her building the online first beauty brand Julep, and to ultimately creating Tokki with her friend & tech genius Taylor Hoit. This week’s epis...

A woman with big entrepreneurial dreams and a passion for uplifting other women - we're talking about Amanda Dare, founder + CEO of Woman-Owned Wallet. Amanda founded WOW to give woman-owned brands a voice and a marketplace in NuLu Neighborhood of Louisville, KY. Now WOW has over 50 woman-owned brands sold in the Feminist Gift Shop! When she opened up the WOW shop in August of 2020, she realized just how many woman-owned shops existed in the neighborhood. She created the NuLu Woman-Owned Walk...

Nicole Chenault is the founder of the handmade drinkware brand, Fbombs & Booze and a 1:1 coach for Women owned handmade product businesses. Her products are sold on multiple e-commerce platforms for retail and wholesale. Their tumblers can be found in over 150 shops and boutiques internationally. Michelle & Nicole discuss the unique stress working in retail brings and how she left a job in the retail grocery industry after 17 years that she had been in since she was 16 years old and how that li...

This episode is a what we like to call a ‘minisode’ with host Michelle Sherrier, giving listeners a quick overview on trends she is currently seeing as she works on setting up the new Stephen Young showroom in Las Vegas, upcoming events she will be a part of that include ‘The Power of Podcasts’ event during Las Vegas Winter Market, the New York Now event in February where Michelle will be doing an 'Instagram Live'. 2023 is starting off with a bang!

Can you go from crafting at your kitchen table to a multi-million-dollar business? As CEO, Holly Daniels Christensen has proved – yes! Using grit and the actual sand beneath her toes, that’s exactly what this entrepreneur has done. The founder of Dune Jewelry left home at 15 years old, and never looked back. She held a variety of jobs with stints as a zookeeper, pharmacy technician, promotional model, bartender, cellphone, car and cruise salesperson. She also spent 14 successful years as a to...

With the new year upon us, what better time to begin managing your inventory more effectively. Larry Hebert is the creator of the OpenToBuy.co, a proprietary inventory management template designed to ensure every retail business manages their purchases effectively through crucial metrics including sales, cost of goods sold, beginning inventory, inventory turns, creating a base inventory and product category management tied to their sales relative to overall revenue generated. This was developed ...

This week’s episode is a solocast with Michelle giving listeners a 2022 recap, lessons learned, the future of The Retail Whore Podcast which of course includes more Retail Whore Road Trips! Take a listen as Michelle talks cutting ties with longtime clients and the challenges of trying to reinvent the same theme year after year after year. This week’s episode is sponsored by Fine Lines, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gif...

Matilda Kalaveshi's introduction to the international fashion industry started at an early age in Europe. After transitioning into the buying world when she joined Macys Corporate Inc, she completely fell in love with retail and the business side of the fashion world. For the past 18 years, she has worked for numerous retailers in the southeast region and has held different positions such as fashion buyer, planner, senior buyer, fashion director and consultant. She currently runs her own reta...

Renee Dick, creator and founder of Fresh Life Marketing, is the girlfriend you never knew you needed in your business. Whether you're in the beginning stages of starting out, or even if you’re an established entrepreneur, her mission is to serve YOU. Renee created Fresh Life Marketing, an agency specializing in done for you content repurposing! This focuses on the content you’ve already created to give it FRESH LIFE in other aspects of your marketing. #worksmarternotharder Renee is also co-ho...

With the holidays upon us, gratitude & giving back is the theme. This week’s guest is Crystalyn Aucoin, a jewelry designer from New Orleans, Louisiana and the mom of a football-loving boy named Winston. After a decade in the jewelry industry, selling top name brands such as David Yurman, Rolex, and Mikimoto at Aucoin Hart Jewelers she decided to create her own jewelry line based on a need she saw in the market for casual fine jewelry and a mission she felt was bigger than herself. Crystalyn Auco...

Sara Villari is the owner and creative director of Occasionette, an award-winning gift and card shop with four locations in the Philadelphia area. Occasionette ranked among the 100 fastest-growing businesses in the Philadelphia region in 2019 and 2020. Prior to opening the first Occasionette location in 2013, Sara was one of the first employees at Etsy.com, working as a community manager for the e-commerce site. From pandemic store openings, private labels, creative merchandising, holiday dec...

This week we are so excited to welcome guest Sara Stonecipher, Owner/CEO of howtorunaretailstore.com, helping entrepreneurs go from startup to success, no matter what part of the journey they're on. In 2011, she started her own small business journey with $17K in savings, inspired by her mom’s retail consignment store, & opened her own store–MISRED Outfitter, a vintage store. Today MISRED is an all new clothing boutique, specializing in everyday clothing and handmade accessories, for women of...

Michael Schultz is the co-owner and creative eye of Cursive New York, which operates 2 stores in New York City. Cursive is a tightly focused concept with the simple mission of cultivating joy. Michael, along with his husband, Douglas Duncan, have established Cursive as a strong and forward voice in the industry. Cursive offers gift, stationery, home and lifestyle products and is constantly evolving. Cursive operated in New York City’s iconic Grand Central Terminal for 11 years and within ABC Car...

If you know Michelle, you know the holidays are her favorite time of the year. The music, the lights, the smells...all of it! On this mini-episode, Michelle gives listeners a quick look into what her holiday setup schedule looks like and how she manages to keep it together through it all. MC Design Collaboration

Abbey & Courtney are both co-founders and business besties of Duo Collective, a boutique organic marketing agency specializing in social media strategy, branding, SEO and coaching for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. We are obsessed with finding ways to help you grow organically without needing to spend a dime on paid ads. With 20+ years of combined marketing experience, Abbey & Court discuss with Michelle the different ways a small retail business can grow their business, el...

This week, we are thrilled to welcome Amy Loewenberg, Senior Relations Manager for NY NOW, SF NOW & American Handcrafted. Amy considers herself to be a champion for people, for product and for paving new lanes for mutually beneficial and treasured relationships that celebrate the love for what we do and why we do it. This is her past, her present and her future. Her passion for product grew exponentially when she returned to NYC and was purchasing for an iconic NYC paper and gift store known ...