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Place Advertising Call 419.330.9658 |
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| Red
Envy Boutique
Amy
Foreman
By Gina Sares
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"I
was the girl in high school that wore all kinds of
crazy stuff. I always wanted to look fashionable and
different,” Amy says.”
 Growing
up with a father who was a contractor and business
owner, Amy Foreman, owner of Red Envy Boutique, learned
how to work at an early age. “Work hard and
establish a great relationship with your clients,”
her father advised her. So, she did.
At the age of 14, Amy struggled with the loss of her
mother, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer
four years earlier. "My mother introduced me
to fashion; she was always on the sewing machine making
clothes." Amy relied on her own strength and
the support of others to get through the hard time.
“It was really rough, but I’m a strong
person,” she says. “After that, my dad
took on the role of mother and father. He was great;
he was very involved in our childhood.”
Throughout high school, Amy had a hard time fitting
in with social circles, although she was active in
the dance team and art club. In 1998, Amy graduated
a semester early from Bowling Green High School and
started Bowling Green State University that summer.
“I wanted to do something in fashion,”
she says. “My major was apparel merchandising
and product development with a minor in marketing.”
During college, Amy worked two jobs to pay for her
schooling. Her jobs ranged from bartending to retail
management. After college, she was offered a position
by a contemporary specialty store to open and manage
a new store in Chicago.
Managing her own corporate store was more difficult
than she thought. “I didn’t enjoy it at
all. I did it because I knew I was good at management,
and it was a paycheck. I also wanted to stay in the
industry,” explains Amy.
After two years in Chicago, Amy’s contract with
the store came to an end, and she was ready to move
on. “I decided not to renew my contract. I knew
I wanted to open up a boutique.” Amy also knew
exactly where she wanted to do it. “I wanted
to move back here, but I didn’t want to go back
to Bowling Green,” she says. Toledo was her
top choice.
Amy spent the next nine months preparing to own her
own business. “I wanted to do it professionally,”
says Amy. “I wanted to get every single detail
on the table before opening up the doors.” She
took small-business seminars through the Toledo Regional
Chamber of Commerce and worked toward getting financing,
although it didn’t work. She ended up using
her own money and getting help from family and friends.
Preparing every detail meant possibly sacrificing
the perfect location for perfect timing. Amy remembers,
“I knew I wanted to open up the store at Cricket
West. It’s such a great location by UT and great
surrounding neighborhoods.” The prime location
for her future boutique was ready before she was.
Amy watched and waited as the store sat empty. “It
was the perfect spot—perfect square footage,
center of the plaza, huge storefront—everything.
It was here months before I wanted to open my doors.
I was afraid someone was going to get it, but no one
ever did.”
Finally, when Amy was ready, she signed the lease
for the space at Cricket West and opened Red Envy
Boutique in March 2006. When it comes to owning her
own business, she says, “There are so many positives.
You’re your own boss and the store is a reflection
of me and all my hard work.” She loves her regulars
that come to talk with her weekly, as well as meeting
new customers that fall in love with the boutique.
Although Amy has come a long way since high school,
she still aims to be “fashionable and unique”
through her store. With an assortment of clothing,
handbags, accessories and locally handmade jewelry,
Red Envy Boutique is home to both well-known and up-and-coming
designer labels such as: Free People, Tulle, Colcci,
Gentle Fawn and Kelly Lane.
“We have limited pieces per style, and we never
do reorders, so you’re not going to run into
someone with the identical outfit on,” explains
Amy. "The future of Red Envy is not set in stone,
but I am planning to design a clothing line and expand
the boutique as my client base continues to grow."
RED ENVY BOUTIQUE
3147 W. Central Avenue
Cricket West Plaza, 419-535-8855
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Business Review highlights the best
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