Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanna Vickrey.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Brief founder story
I started in this industry back in 2014, working for designer and entrepreneur Kelli Kim as a bookkeeper for her wholesale business selling clothing, handbags, and jewelry. What began as bookkeeping quickly grew into so much more—I became her office manager, handling organization, record keeping, invoicing, and online order fulfillment. I also helped prepare for events and supported clients with showroom appointments.
As the business grew, Kelli invited me into the creative side, too. She designed handbags, and I began assisting with designs learning the retail and wholesale world from the inside out. When I started, there were about 40 handbag styles. Today, more than 600 styles and colors of The Chic Bag have been designed, and it’s been sold in places like Caesars Palace, Ride Now, and Dollywood, just to name a few. The Chic Bag is a small crossbody that can be worn four ways: crossbody, around the waist, over the shoulder, or as a wristlet.
While building the brand, we moved into a new space and transformed an old business suite into a large wholesale showroom with 12 rooms-each dedicated to a different product category. We even rented a few suites to other small businesses, including a permanent makeup artist, hairstylist, photographer, and a maker of baby clothes. That concept became the beginning of what would grow into Studio 48.
Kelli and I both lived in Queen Creek, and as life evolved, we wanted to build closer to home. In 2017, we opened a second location in the heart of Queen Creek—becoming the first salon suites in Queen Creek with this concept. We remodeled and built out both locations into Studio 48 Salon Suites: the Mesa location with 12 suites plus a 2,400 sq ft upstairs space, and the Queen Creek location with 7 suites. Our vision was a true “one stop shop,” filling the suites with hairstylists, nail techs, estheticians, barbers, tattoo artists, massage therapists, and more, so someone could walk in feeling like one person and leave feeling like a whole new person, inside and out.
Through it all, I wore a lot of hats from bookkeeper, office manager, assistant designer, personal assistant, boutique owner, and more. I loved the work, and I loved building something meaningful.
In 2020, Kelli was ready to retire from the industry. I stepped up, first purchasing The Chic Bag business, and then, in September 2020, becoming the owner of Studio 48 (now DBA Studio 48 Boutique & Suites). At the same time, I was already growing my boutique, Wildflowers and Grace.
Today, Studio 48 Suites has grown to three locations, with our newest location in Gold Canyon opened in 2024 with five suites for beauty professionals. Wildflowers and Grace (Studio 48 Boutique) now has two boutique locations: a 2,400 sq ft boutique upstairs in Mesa filled with unique apparel, handbags, gifts, accessories, jewelry, art, home décor, and more and a second boutique in Gold Canyon also filled with amazing and unique finds some crafted and created by myself.
That’s my story: learning the business from the ground up, growing alongside an incredible mentor, and then stepping into ownership to continue building a place where style, confidence, and community come together.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As 2020 was a struggle for most as we were wholesale however with the world events that year gears shifted, we opened up to retail as well. going from in person sales to online sales was a bit of a challenge.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am inspired but the things around me when I design items. I love to give things second chances turning nothing into something. In the boutique I will have a little of something for everyone. I always try to set myself and my designs aside from others. Perhaps giving something more than one purpose or function.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Fashion will always be. A much larger selection of items, getting on this live selling online train and rapidly growing from it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wildflowersandgrace.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildflowersandgraceboutique/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WildflowersandGrace
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shop.wildflowers
