Today we’d like to introduce you to Kari Johnston.
Hi Kari, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2018, I was working in Corporate America and going through a season of loss in my life – I had lost one of my friends unexpectedly at the end of 2017, one had terminal cancer and died in March of 2018, and I didn’t know it yet, but a third would die unexpectedly January 1st of 2019. all of which were under age 35. The world seemed bleak, so on a whim, I decided to paint a piece of furniture that was sitting in my garage and sell it on Facebook marketplace. It was so satisfying to see something that was ugly become beautiful, plus it was nice to have a reason to spend some time outside with nothing but my paint, my piece of furniture, and my grief.
I find dabbling in anything difficult – if I take to doing something, it’s usually full force. In this vein, painting furniture in my yard turned into watching YouTube tutorials, which caused me to realize that there was a whole industry of people who painted furniture, and then also sold the products they used to other DIYers. My “hobby” turned into an LLC and getting a vendor space in a local shop, and then getting a larger vendor space in a larger shop, and then, in the fall of 2020, quitting my corporate job to open my own store – Rose City Boutique.
When I opened my store, I modeled it after the space that I sold paint in – Village Chic Boutique in South Charleston, Ohio. One of the owners, Jennifer, and I sat down and developed a “sister stores” concept. We asked some of the makers that offered items in Village Chic if they would like to expand to Rose City. I continued to be the paint vendor in Village Chic, and they supply home decor and candles as a vendor in my store. Each place has makers that are unique to their demographic as well, which allows customers to patronize both locations and find a huge variety of merchandise. I’ve found collaboration like that to always be more fulfilling than approaching relationships competitively. Currently, Rose City’s merchandise is supplied by over 40 artisans, making us not just a place where you can always find one-of-a-kind items, but in doing so, you support a whole community of families.
Last year, my business model got a little bit more complex. A friend asked if I’d figure out how to manage one of her properties as an Airbnb. I took on the project, and in similar fashion to my store, one property turned into two, and now I am going to be managing a third property starting next month.
Along the way, I also noticed that the creative people I work with dreaded the business aspects of their work, so last year, I launched the consulting branch of my business. Rose City Consulting offers social media and website services to artists who want to spend their time creating.
Though I miss having a direct deposit from time to time, I have to say the life I have now is so much more fulfilling than the days I was trying to fit joy in between the cracks of the grind of working for a major corporation. My favorite part of my 14 years in corporate America was leading teams and helping people learn and grow, and I still get to do those things. Nowadays, I get to support people when they are doing what lights them up inside, which is priceless.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m not sure a smooth road exists. My days climbing the corporate ladder felt challenging, and my life now has its challenges, but they are different for sure. I used to be focused on that next promotion or raise, whereas now I don’t earn a dollar just by clocking in for the day.
I think there is a huge misconception that if you own a business, you must be independently wealthy. The truth of my story is that I sold my car and cashed out my corporate pension to open my store, and every dime it has generated so far is simply keeping the lights on. I’m also a little fish in a pond with giants like Amazon, trying to convince customers that the love that goes into our products outweighs the convenience of big box stores.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
In short, we specialize in the relationship between customers and creatives. We provide creative people both a brick-and-mortar and e-commerce store in which to sell their products, as well as business strategy sessions and social media and website services to grow their brand. We provide customers with high-quality artisan items so that they are able to find the perfect gift, piece of art, or home decor.
I love that my business is able to showcase people’s creative talents and that it supports those people in making those talents their livelihood.
What do you think about happiness?
A few things make me happy. The thing that makes me the most happy is picking up my 16-year-old son up from school and spending time with him every week. It won’t be long before he has his driver’s license, and then he’ll be off to college and out on his own. I get the flexibility to dedicate myself to the last few years of having him home.
It also makes me happy to work toward my own vision for my business. When you’re working in a cubicle, you spend a lot of time talking to your colleagues about how you’d run the place, and now, I run the place. That’s a good feeling.
Finally, I’ll reiterate how happy it makes me to work with people who creative beautiful things. As much as I can admire a good spreadsheet, it’s an honor to be in the front row when an artist unveils their latest masterpiece. It’s even more fun that I then get to be the one who shouts from the rooftops how amazing they are until a customer comes around and appreciates their work as much as I do. Knowing what goes into making these things and then seeing customers light up when they find something awesome is the most fulfilling matchmaking there is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shoprosecity.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoprosecity937/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoprosecity
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rosecityboutique
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shoprosecity
Image Credits
Jessalyn Pugh
Marcy Harris-Ortiz
