Meet Madison Geroski of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison Geroski.

Hi Madison, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My love for fashion began when I was a little girl playing tee ball in dresses while wearing frilly socks and bows in my hair, and grew as I matured. I pursued my Fashion Design degree at Kent State University where I completed a study abroad program in Florence, Italy and spent a year in New York City studying and interning in the design industry. I graduated with my degree in Fashion Design. After graduation, I moved to New York and freelanced for designers such as Tracy Reese and Natori and then eventually found my creative home at Kohl’s New York Design office as an Assistant Designer for the Elle brand.

My career started as an Assistant Designer for knit and woven tops, but then evolved to include designing for all apparel categories. I was promoted to an Associate Designer where I was given the opportunity to complete Factory training in Guatemala where I was trained on all aspects of the apparel production process from lab-dipping to fabric development, production lines, and grading of patterns. Shortly after, I transitioned to the Lauren Conrad brand where I travelled internationally to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and India to collaborate with our vendors and design apparel collections in real-time. This was a thrilling experience for me and furthered my knowledge of the industry in a meaningful way.

The Elle brand at Kohl’s was given an exciting opportunity to design and produce a runway show in collaboration with Elle fashion magazine. I was chosen to transition back to the brand and work on the capsule collection in conjunction with a Designer. It was an amazing experience working on tech packs, collaborating with sample makers, selecting models, and helping to produce a massive runway show and curated collection during New York Fashion Week for over 800 industry attendees. To this day it is still an experience I cherish.

My fashion career continued as I advanced to the Designer level where I reimagined the Juicy Couture and Nine West Brands to be more relevant and commercially compelling, and then acquired a promotion to Senior Designer over the Nine West brand. This was an incredible role over a $500M business where I led the creative vision and development of seasonal collections. I conducted strategic design conversations with executive leadership during our monthly milestone meetings and completed routine travel to study trends in the market.

It was at this point in my career where my father became sick with Cancer and passed away unexpectedly. Before he passed, I had told him of my dream to take what I had learned in my design career and translate that into owning my own boutique and he loved the idea! After he passed, I knew it was time to make my dream a reality.

That’s when Madison Paul (my gift, home decor, and baby boutique) and Merry by Madison (an 8,000 sq foot Holiday store) came to life!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The transition from working in a corporate environment to being the sole founder and operator of two boutiques was not always a smooth road. I went from being very specialized in my field to needing to understand so many different roles and responsibilities outside of my wheelhouse. I became head of HR, Marketing, Merchandising, Financial Planning, Budgeting, Operations, IT, Sourcing, and more. I quickly learned how important it would be to utilize insight from my peers who were experts in a variety of other industries. I had monthly meetings with a financial planner and a business owner I admired to gain advice, and would reach out to my peers to ask questions along the way. Google was my best friend. I was constantly researching how to do things- from how to print barcodes to how to set the appropriate sales tax amounts on our point of sale systems, create a scheduling system, track inventory, source product, negotiate leases, and build a website. It gave me such an incredible range of skills I could never have imagined I’d gain. Almost every single system and process was new to me, and I am so proud of the knowledge I acquired.

Managing my time in an efficient way became crucial. It took some evolution to find a system that worked for me, but eventually I set up a successful framework and discovered how important it was to focus in on the strengths of my staff. Utilizing their interests and skills to accomplish executional tasks kept them engaged and checked things off the to-do list while allowing me to focus on bigger-picture enterprise things.

The economy also shifted during this time and we were hit with tariffs and other increases in freight costs which caused us to raise prices. I honed in on my training in the fashion industry to focus on storytelling, elevating my brand presentation, clarifying my unique purpose, and creating immersive experiences for my clients that stood out above other retailers. I focused on finding products that had a ‘story’ and a purpose to make the investment in these items more meaningful for our customers.

Being an entrepreneur is about problem solving, knowing your numbers, surrounding yourself with mentors and a network you can learn from and rely on, planning, risk taking, and above all else: having driving passion and perseverance. When you welcome and understand these things, it makes the journey so much more enjoyable!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Madison Paul and Merry by Madison both specialize in offering curated product that tells a ‘story’, has a unique meaning, or a evokes a stylized purpose. We make celebrating stylish, and gift giving memorable. My clients come to me to curate gift baskets for all types of occasions and for timeless home decorations and guidance. They know they will find product that is thoughtfully selected and that I will curate decor with their style in mind. I also offer in- home decorating and in-home and corporate Holiday Tree decorating which is a unique service that can be difficult to find. This season I have even expanded to styling front porches and mail boxes as well. This was such a natural transition for me, and something I enjoy doing. It lessens the stress of home decorating and entertaining for my clients and allows me to create something beautiful for them. Being open to new opportunities and brainstorming has always been a priority for me and I’m so proud of how Madison Paul and Merry by Madison have expanded into so many different realms. I have been appearing as a guest home decor expert on our local news station for multiple years and I’m looking forward to seeing what personal growth will come from that as well!

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I strive to create memorable moments and beautiful spaces that bring joy and invite celebration with family and friends. When you enjoy being in your home, it allows you to focus on creating impactful moments with those around you. It’s the same rewarding feeling you get when you wear something that makes you feel confident, or the excited anticipation you feel when you find a unique gift for someone and know they are going to love it. No matter what project or design industry I am involved in, I want my contribution to bring happiness, creativity, beauty, and style into the world. Making design more accessible and joyous for others matters so much to me. I find joy sharing the knowledge I’ve gained in all facets of design from apparel to home decor and am looking forward to continuing to help others ‘Celebrate with Style’.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MadisonPaul.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madisonpaulcollection/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-geroski-a25a0b21
• Other: https://a.co/d/0iBm4Vfh