Entrepreneurial seed blossoms: Owner of new children's boutique in Cary comes from long line of business owners

It should have been no surprise to anybody in Jamie Hill's family when she announced plans to open up her own business, a high-end children's boutique called Everafter Kids. Hill, after all, comes from a family of successful entrepreneurs.

Growing up in Washington state, she remembers her grandmother, Caron Rang, owning hair salons and buying and selling cars. When Rang moved to North Carolina in the early 1990s, she brought that entrepreneurial spirit here, helping Hill's uncle, who later went on to launch popular local coffee roaster Larry's Coffee, open up a coffee shop called Paradigm in Waverly Place in Cary.  Rang eventually sold Paradigm to open up another coffee shop - Java Jive, which grew to three locations before she sold them and retired. Today, Java Jive is still in the family. Hill's mom owns the Lochmere Java Jive location.

"I spent several years working in the shops and eventually managing them for my grandma," Hill tells me. "I absolutely loved it and look back on those years as some of my fondest memories. I was drawn to the day-to-day customer interactions, getting good at crafting coffee and taking pride in my work and the store’s appearance. During those pivotal years, my grandma taught me the ins and outs of running a small business and an entrepreneurial seed was definitely planted."

Between then and now, Hill has been busy - earning a bachelor's degree in environmental technology and management from N.C. State and working for Larry's Coffee, where she helped her uncle open up the inventive coffee shop 42 & Lawrence in downtown Raleigh.

"After the doors were open, I still felt the entrepreneurial tug to do my own thing," she tells me. "Project management got close to what I wanted, but wasn't quite it. That’s when I left Larry's to try and figure out whatever that thing was going to be."

The answer: Everafter Kids, a children's boutique that features new and like-new high-end products and apparel for children. The shop is at 964 High House Rd., Cary.

I checked in with Hill, who lives in Cary with her husband and two young children, to learn more about the shop and her plans. Here's a Q&A:

Go Ask Mom: Why did you decide to open Everafter Kids? What do you offer?

Jamie Hill: For months, after leaving Larry's Coffee, I bounced around several ideas and wrote several business plans from juice bar to mobile coffee bar to preschool to dog groomers. One day the idea to open a children’s resale shop hit me. I was electrified and knew that it would one day come to fruition.

This wasn’t going to be just any resale shop. It was going to focus on high-end items and it was going to be clean and aesthetically appealing. It was going to take my favorite parts about thrift shopping, the thrill of the hunt and snagging the perfect deal, and it was going to combine them with my amateur passion for interior design. At the same time, I wanted to cut out the negative of thrift shopping, sifting through overly used items or shopping in a less than cleanly store. After sharing my idea with my husband Lee, he pretty much instantaneously agreed that I should pursue it and he promised to support me along the way, which he has, immensely.

So, now that we’re open, what do we offer? Well, Everafter Kids is a children’s boutique that offers both new and like-new items at affordable prices. We carry everything from gifts to supplies. You’ll find boutique clothes, teething jewelry, bubbles, placemats, burp cloths, bows and high-end strollers. Our whimsical store makes browsing easy and enjoyable. We even have a play garden so your kids can play while you shop worry free!

Some of our favorite brands include: UPPAbaby, Hanna Andersson, Mini Boden, Lilly Pulitzer, Stokke, Patagonia, The Bailey Boys, Gap and Ralph Lauren. Par for the course, we love anything heirloom, smocked, embroidered or ruffled! Another component of our store, one that is dear to my heart, is the that we partner with local craftspeople. We currently feature eight of them. They all have children of their own, and that makes me pretty happy. I love being able to give back to the community and to help build a community around my store. Raising kids can be hard work, and I want to do anything I can to help make parenting a little easier and a little more joyful for those around me.

GAM: You offer a mix of new and like-new items. Why did you want to offer both?

JH: It just kind of happened organically and seemed to make sense to me. I decided to put the new items in the front and pre-loved items in the back. I feel like there are certain things you may not want to buy "pre-loved" like gifts and feeding utensils. Then there are other items that are fantastic to buy "pre-loved" like high-end boutique clothes that only get worn a few times before your kiddo out grows them!

GAM: You plan some community activities and programs. Why kinds of things do you have in mind?

JH: The grand opening in October was our first real event and it was a blast. I am so happy with the way it turned out. Other ideas that I have in the works are a series of “Mommy and Me” classes such as: painting with Sociable Art (one of the local artists featured in the store), tea time, story time and yoga. I’ve also talked with another local entrepreneur about hosting Mindfulness Parenting classes. The thought of having semi-annual craft fairs and Matilda Jane Trunk Shows is also appealing. Who knows what else we will come up with - the ideas are endless, and I’d like to eventually grow into a monthly event schedule.

GAM: You come from a family of entrepreneurs, but this is your first big venture. What lessons have you learned so far?

JH: I do come from a family of entrepreneurs, and this is my first big venture on my own. I have already learned so much. Some key lessons that I have learned already would be:

• Try not to take things personally.
• Understand that there will be setbacks, no matter how much you plan and try to avoid them. Hiccups will happen, often, and at the perfectly wrong time.
• Just keep doing what you know is right and, eventually, you will see results.
• I knew it was going to be challenging and it is.

GAM: How do you hope Everafter Kids grows?

JH: Honestly, I hope we can one day become a national franchise with both brick and mortar and online stores. Until then, I’d settle for another location or two. One recurring consideration is how I might like to move into larger space to make holding some of the events a little more manageable. Anything is possible, and I’m up for the challenge.

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