Today we’d like to introduce you to Caryssa Meints.
Caryssa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Pürre was started in 2010 by Natasha Quinn, the OG Pürre Girl! I have been in retail for 12 years, at Pürre on and off for about 6, and I just fell in love with the energy of the shop, our customers, and the products we sell. We carry a lot of female owned, small businesses and support so many great, local makers.
Sometime in 2023, I brought the idea of expansion to Natasha. I had some money I wanted to invest, and always wanted to own my own store one day. However, I felt that in our area, there are so many of the same little boutiques – why compete when I can expand a store that I already love and believe in the products we are already selling.
I stumbled upon this little plaza one day going to my local tailor. It had hardly anything in it, but was so beautifully done I was surprised when I kept walking by this open real estate over a period of a few weeks. I thought… how are these units still empty in this stunning spot? I called the plaza – more like harassed them – to view the units, and the rest is history.
I got to design our space from start to finish, which was a really rare and cool experience for me. Natasha gave me a lot of creative freedom to design the space in my vision for Pürre. It’s a more elevated version of the OG store at the Camp and I think blends in beautifully with the center.
Now, Paseo 17 (our plaza), is full and thriving, and we are so honored to be apart of this beautiful community of small, local businesses.
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?
Is any endeavor truly a smooth road? For starters, it took so long to have movement on the unit that we ended up getting pushed into opening just days before Christmas. Our build out had delays because of the holidays, and in total we probably had everything finished in a matter of weeks.
Natasha and I were working 12 hour days, not only prepping our flagship store for the holidays, but stocking and finishing everything for the new location as well. We were literally prepping shipment in the shop at the same time our guy was cutting and tiling our front counter. It was chaos, but beautiful chaos.
The center was brand new, so for the first year we didn’t have a lot of foot traffic. But being an existing store, people were excited to check out our new location. So that was an advantage for us even without being in a traditional shopping mall. Which I love and think is the beautiful part about Pürre – we’re a little hidden gem, not in a big strip mall, and the center is a beautiful place to come and relax. Grab a coffee, shop small, enjoy the sun.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The team likes to call me the Creative Director, which I love. One of the things I love most about my job is that it isn’t a traditional position like you would find in corporate retail. I wear many hats, which can be overwhelming at times, but I have so much creative freedom it truly outweighs the challenges.
I really got to step into a more creative role that I was nervous to fulfill at first, but once I got going, I realized just how much passionate I am in this area. I get to do the majority of our social media, and while I’m not a professional photographer, I love getting to shoot our product photography, styling content, and everything in between.
I learned on the job how to merchandise the store, and it became one of my favorite moving meditations. I blast music, and have total creative freedom to style the store how I envision it. I also do all of our graphic design, which while again, I’m quite the novice, I really enjoy all the creative elements I get to dabble in.
I had the privilege of designing our new location, which was such a cool experience for me. I love interior design, and could envision the way I wanted the shop to look immediately. I would picture myself walking through the shop, all the little details, grabbing a coffee from next door… I could really see the finished shop in my mind.
My job is really unique in the sense that I’m not just making the schedule and working on the floor, I get to have a creative outlet too.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I love to do collabs with local creatives and makers and am open to it all! I’m really into art and would love to host an artist in the shop next.
We also offer a pop-up space at our Camp location to local makers that can’t quite get into the shop as stockists, but allow them to pop-up for the day so they have a platform to share their products with the community.
To collaborate with us, email me at [email protected]!
Pricing:
- Most products are under $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.purreboutique.com
- Instagram: @purreboutique
Image Credits
Kaelin Davis Photography (images 1-4 – professional photos)
