Mother’s Day Working Moms Edition
This Mother’s Day, we’re shopping coastal: working-mom style! Wonderfully unique and one-of-a-kind, take a peek behind the scenes and meet 5 working Moms that are also Dune Retail Partners. Learn about their businesses and how they balance being working moms and running successful boutiques. Make sure to visit their Coastal Boutiques and Gift Shops on your next trip to their locale.
1. Where to shop in New Smyrna Beach, Florida with Amanda Silvernail of The Big Bamboo, FRIKI TIKI, Bamboo Trading Company
I got started in the wholesale side of the business at a very young age, going to Atlanta to help my aunt in her showroom. I would help with the merchandising and do order writing during the shows. I then went on to be a sales rep in California. I was far away from all my family and not crazy about my current career trajectory when my aunt approached me with an idea to open our very own boutique in Florida. I don’t remember having any hesitations, I quickly moved back to my roots! It took us a few tries to find the perfect location, and 20 years later we are still there! Our small beach town has grown so much in the last 20 years, and I am thankful that we have grown with it. We will be opening our fourth store in the upcoming month! – Amanda Silvernail | Director of Retail Operations, The Big Bamboo, FRIKI TIKI, Bamboo Trading Company
Q: How do you balance your work/home life? Any tips for other working mothers?
AS: Balance has always been a challenge for me, even before kids. My work was always my life, however, the most important thing I can do right now is be there for my kids, I strive to put them first. While I can’t be as productive as I used to be or want to be, I know in my heart that my most important job is at home. My advice to other moms would be to give yourself some grace at work. It is impossible to do what you used to and that will have to be okay. They are only young once and for a short time. Let people help you. It’s not easy, but it’s temporary….soak up the snuggles while you can!
Q: Where is your favorite place to spend time with your kids/family?
AS: In our camper on various adventures!
Q: Do your children get involved with the store and how?
AS: Not so much yet. However, we are opening a children’s store and it is named after my oldest! I am hoping he will be interested in helping me out choosing cool merchandise!
Q: What are your favorite Dune picks for Mother’s Day Gifts for Moms, Daughters, and Grandmothers?
AS: My favorite picks for Mother’s Day must be the heart pieces. Moms are love, and what better way to symbolize that love, than with a heart filled with a piece of something that they love. Attached is a photo of my favorite heart piece. I really love the Dune beaded bracelets – very easy to wear and stack with existing pieces!
The Big Bamboo 504 Flagler Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 (386) 426-0022 shopthebigbamboo.com
FRIKI TIKI 419 Flagler Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 (386) 427-7802 frikitikigifts.com
Bamboo Trading Company 213 Flagler Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 (386) 410-3297
2. Mother’s Day Must-haves of Lauren Collins, Owner of Island Charms in Anna Maria, FL
My daughters and I talked about opening a shop after moving to Florida and the opportunity came when a retail space opened up just a block from our house. We took a chance and learned on the job. It has been a very special family adventure over the last six years. – Lauren Collins, Owner of Island Charms
Q: How do you balance your work/home life? Any tips for other working mothers?
LC: I am lucky enough to have a wonderful staff who will cover for myself and others when we need to be away from the store for a school event, etc. Our hours are also family friendly as we close at 5 pm daily. My tip for other working mothers is ‘Do not be timid about asking for help.’ We all need it from time to time!
Q: Where is your favorite place to spend time with your kids/family?
LC: We live in a beautiful beach town in Florida so my older children are always keen to come home to visit. They feel like they are on vacation when they come home.
Q: Do your children get involved with the store and how?
LC: My children have been involved with the store from the very beginning when they helped by painting walls and refinishing displays. Our daughters have sold their art and jewelry in the shop and both girls continue to help me with designs for my private-label brand. My son helps by keeping me up to date on what jewelry teenage boys are interested in.
Q: What are your favorite Dune picks for Mother’s Day Gifts for Moms, Daughters, and Grandmothers?
LC: We are loving the Dune collaboration with 4ocean and our favorite pick is the Boho ring with Anna Maria Sand and Hawaii Blue Plastic. We also love the newer Sandglobe necklace with Larimar on one side and Anna Maria Island sand on the other side.
Island Charms | 218C Pine Ave, Anna Maria, FL 34216 (941) 242-0253
3. Where to shop in Marathon, Florida with Teri Anderson, Bayshore Clothing
Bayshore Clothing is a family business, my parents started it when I was about 5 and my sister Jena was about 2. These days Jena and I both manage the store and our mom is more behind the scenes now. We just celebrated 35 years in March! -Teri Anderson, Bayshore Clothing
Q: How do you balance your work/home life? Any tips for other working mothers?
T: We just had our fourth (and final) child in February so we’re still figuring out the balance part! I’ve been so lucky to be able to bring all of the kids to work with me for the first couple of years. Having help with the kids and great employees is definitely a major factor.
Q: Where is your favorite place to spend time with your kids/family?
T: Since we live in the Florida Keys, the beach of course! That’s always been my happy place so now I just bring the family with me. Anything involving the water and the sun- sandbar, boat, out on the reef, or paddle boarding.
Q: Do your children get involved with the store and how?
T: My daughter gets off the bus at the store just like I did when I was a kid so that’s pretty awesome. She has little jobs like dusting and fixing things that are out of place. She loves talking with the customers too and showing them new merchandise. We’re located right next to a great little ice cream shop so she’s always happy to work for a treat!
Q: What are your favorite Dune picks for Mother’s Day Gifts for Moms, Daughters, and Grandmothers?
T: My favorite Dune pieces for Mother’s Day would be the gradient heart collection, with matching pieces from everyone’s favorite beach.
Bayshore Clothing | 8911 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL (305) 743-8430
4. Mother’s Day Favorites of Jenna Miller, Owner Jenna Jane’s, Beach Haven, NJ
Jenna Janes Jewelry started in Beach Haven in 2009 when I was 24 years old. My inspiration for the store came from when I traveled to Florida and the Caribbean and realized there wasn’t anything very similar on Long Beach Island. In April of 2009, Jenna Jane’s Jewelry first opened in Beach Haven, NJ. – Jenna Miller, Owner Jenna Jane’s
When I first started out work/life balance was super easy; I was young and had the time and my husband and I both had seasonal business and understood the demands of it. Once we had our first daughter Jordan in 2015 the dynamics of work/life balance changed as did our priorities. Our second daughter Julia came along in 2017 and juggling two businesses and two little ones was not easy but we all adapted well. Luckily my husband and I have been blessed with the help from our parents, without them all of this would not be possible. When we do not have them around to help with the girls, they come with us to work. We have made them playrooms in the office and now that they are 5 and 8, they really enjoy being around the stores and seeing the customers. Jordan enjoys unpacking new arrivals and helping with displays while Julia loves scanning merchandise to see how high she can run the total up (lol).
The advice I would have for working moms is that you have to be adaptable and realize that there is no perfect schedule. When our girls were young, we would just bring them, and they would adapt to our schedule as a result this has made them super easygoing travelers.
Our favorite place to spend time with our kids is in Florida or St. John. We visit the grandparents in Florida on and off throughout the winter and visit some beautiful beaches down there and of course Disney World. Our special place to go for our family vacations is St. John, USVI. I traveled there a lot when I was younger with my parents and then my husband and I honeymooned there then we took the girls there last year and are heading back this year. The unspoiled landscape of St. John is just unbelievable, and the beaches are breathtaking. The girls love the beaches, and snorkeling. My oldest even did the Trunk Bay underwater snorkeling trail.
My favorite Dune picks for Mother’s Day are also the pieces I wear every day and I always make sure I have them in the case. My go-to necklace is the Dune Bar double necklace, the one I have has sand from Surf City, NJ (where I grew up) and turquoise gradient and the second bar has my daughter’s names engraved which is what makes it super special. My other favorite piece that I always wear is the Essential Rope Heart Cuff bracelet (mine has sand from the US Virgin Islands). These are great gift ideas and can be customized with the memories dearest to Mom’s heart. For the little ones, I love the delicate dune collections. My girls wear the Delicate Dune Heart necklaces with LBI sand in them. The choices for the perfect Dune gift are endless, and you can customize your jewelry piece, so it is truly one of a kind!
Jenna Jane’s | 325 9th St, Beach Haven, NJ 08008 (609) 492-2288
5. Working Mom tips & gifts with Mary Smithson, Owner of Mary Jane’s in Hawaii & Colorado
After several successful years in corporate sales and marketing positions, my husband and I took a leap of faith in 2006 and decided to open a small, family-owned boutique of our own in beautiful Estes Park, CO. We now own five stores in Colorado and Hawaii! – Mary Smithson, Owner of Mary Jane’s
Q: How do you balance your work/home life? Any tips for other working mothers?
MS: Honestly, this has been and still is a challenge! When you are passionate about your business, it is hard to not feel like you have to be involved in every piece of it. I recommend reading or listening to Who Not How, by Dan Sullivan, available on Amazon. It opened my eyes to the fact that I am not the person to do every task – that sometimes someone else will be much better/more efficient at it and free up my time to focus on the bigger picture. In 2020 we hired a buyer for our stores, and while I struggled with the decision at first, it ended up being the best thing I ever did for my business and for my work/home life balance.
Q: Where is your favorite place to spend time with your child/children & /family?
MS: I have a teenage son who is an avid golfer and has his own business so family time is precious and sometimes allusive. He is a photographer so I often accompany him on his photo shoots as his helper and we always get some talk time in during those sessions. When we are all together, we like to do a “family game night” at home. I also love it when we take family walks down to the beach with our dog and we all talk together about what’s going on with school, golf, and both our businesses.
Q: Do your children get involved with the store and how?
MS: My son grew up in the store, literally. During the first year of his life, he hung out at the store with me almost every day. He has helped with many tasks over the years, but currently, he helps by occasionally taking photos/videos at the store for our social media and website.
Q: What are your favorite Dune picks for Mother’s Day Gifts for Moms, Daughters, and Grandmothers?
MS: Any piece of Dune is a great Mother’s Day Gift! However, I do think that the turtle collection has special meaning and makes a perfect gift for that special woman that fills the shoes of a mom. A turtle represents patience, wisdom, protection, and determination– all the things that moms provide daily.
Visit Mary Jane’s exploremaryjanes.com
Mary Jane’s Waimea – Parker Ranch Center, 67-1185 Mamalahoa Hwy, Waimea, HI (808)887-2707
Mary Jane’s Keauhou – Keauhou Shopping Center, 78-6831 Alii Drive, Suite #164, Kailua-Kona, HI (808) 731-4240
Mary Jane’s Waikoloa – Kings’ Shops, Waikoloa Beach Resort, 69-250 Waikoloa Beach Dr, Waikoloa, HI (808) 886-2707
Mary Jane’s Estes Park – 358 E. Elkhorn Ave, Estes Park, CO (970) 586-9034
Mary Jane’s Steamboat Springs – 703 Lincoln Ave. Unit B103b, Steamboat Springs, CO (970) 879-7265
Go Coastal for Mother’s Day!
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