Recent Episodes

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 Walkin...

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 lif...

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 top...

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 gift,...

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 retail...

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-host...

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 Au...

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 decor...

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 a...

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 ...

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, eleva...

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 a...

This week’s guest is Melissa Kanarek, a couture upholsterer and seamstress by trade who lives in the Santa Ynez Valley part of California, where she operates her Brass Tack brick & mortar. Melissa’s work, along with the pieces she buys, is imbued with a strong sense of story. She believes who makes it and how it is made are equally important to the object itself. An admitted travel junkie (56 countries and counting), the globe is an unending, evergrowing moodboard for her endeavors. Michelle & M...

This week we are so lucky to have Dale Rhodes - Senior VP of Katin USA , as this week’s guest. Dale’s path to success began at 17 years-old, when he worked in the retail industry at MGA (Guess Jeans), CampBeverly Hills , and Val Surf . It came naturally for him to style celebrities and work directly with clients. It was then – during the hot trend of Guess in the 80s – that Dale paved the way for his future accomplishments in the apparel industry. With a breadth of knowledge in marketing and man...

Kerrie Fitzgerald the founder of Kerrie Fitzgerald LLC - an ecommerce and product business consulting & educational agency, and host of top 100 marketing podcast- The 6 Figure Product Business Podcast . As a digital marketing expert, Kerrie helps e-commerce businesses create “wildly in demand” brands that their customers are obsessed with. After starting her first high-end pet e-commerce business, The Dapper Dog Box in 2016, she grew the business to multi 6 figures of revenue in two years withou...

This week’s episode guest is Matt Katzenson, CEO of Fines Lines Company . Fine Lines Company began in 1989. Paula Abdul had just released her smash hit “Straight Up”, and they had just launched their first 8 x 10 ft. trade show booth featuring 4 brave manufacturers that believed in a couple of cocky upstarts. Today, with permanent showrooms in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Seattle, as well as a sales territory that ranges from New Mexico to Alaska, you might say they’ve grown a bit since Paula peak...

After over a decade working in advertising agencies on both Madison Avenue in NYC and in Los Angeles, Meredith turned her passion for marketing to retail marketing and merchandising when she and her husband Michael, a pharmacist, purchased the historic Fair Oaks Pharmacy in 1990. Together they restored it and added the iconic soda fountain which became an instant success along Route 66 and the site of a host of numerous television and movie shoots. In 2010 Meredith and Michael bought Webster’s C...

This week’s guest is Laura McDowell, a leadership coach + strategist & founder of Laura McDowell Creative , who specializes in helping entrepreneurial businesses love what they do. Take a listen as Michelle & Laura breakdown, how you, as a business owner, can find new ways to increase revenue, generate leads, and finally achieve your next-level business goals utilizing the EOS system . Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn TikTok Resources

Michelle is back this week with another Solocast to talk stories & lessons from a life in retail, the inspiration for this podcast. She touches on gift & apparel shows, not looking in the rear view mirror, why worrying about what others are doing is pointless, pushing the envelope creatively & a reminder to NOT expand too fast. Grab a notebook, a refreshing drink & find a quiet room. You won't want to miss these tips cultivated from 40+ years in the retail industry.

Lindsay Foster is a personal development junkie with a passion to share her stories of retail, recovery, and resilience with everyone in her life. Lindsay is a student of the industry and began her days of retail in Coeur d' Alene Idaho at the age of 15 while working alongside her Mother at the Original Penny Candy Store. Lindsay went on to study Sociology at Brigham Young University- Idaho after which she received her license in Cosmetology. As a young adult Lindsay battled with a disease tha...

Back by popular demand, we are so excited to welcome back Fabian Navejas, Gift Merchandiser & Buyer for A.C. Vromans Inc., one of the oldest independent bookstores in the country, 128 years old. In addition to working at A.C. Vromans, he is also the Founder of Onederkam.com, which is a small eCommerce gift and home accessories store. His side hustle! On this episode, which we are calling a ‘merchandising roundtable”, Michelle & Fabian jump right in to talk about ALL things merchandising. This is...