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Today I am telling 17,000+ people that I am closing Baker & Co.

I’ve known this day was coming for a while now. I’ve felt every emotion possible. I’ve held my tongue when I’ve wanted to blurt it out so many times. I’ve imagined what saying the words to an audience would feel like (it makes my stomach lurch every time). I’ve felt so much relief, a lot of sadness, giddiness with excitement + a lot of fear.

But mostly?

The feeling that I know I am ready for my next chapter.

The phrase that I’ve used most while discussing this with my husband + family is “two things can be true at the same time.

My love for the store that I built from nothing is undeniable. It truly has been like my child in many ways. The self sacrifice that comes from being a business owner is not for the weak. One phrase that is always in the forefront of my mind is “If not me, than who?”. This chapter of my life will always be something I am so proud of and have a true sense of accomplishment for. A successful boutique is not an easy feat.

So then, why am I closing?

Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane.

Baker & Co. actually started in 2015 with me asking my husband to build me a few things I found on Pinterest. After he so easily did, I thought we could make a business out of this! We made wood signs (it was very 2015 - lol), cutouts of the state of FL and repurposed some antiques we found thrifting. Fast forward we ended up dumping the signs, buying + selling antiques across the country at home decor pop up shows + big events such as Lucketts in VA + Round Top in TX. I learned that I had a very natural talent for merchandising + pulling things together to create beauty. We had a truck, two trailers + a Class C motorhome we drove all over the United States. It was fun + exciting! Traveling the country was such a true gift. It was always in the back of my mind that I’d like to be more home based though.

Things I learned during COVID; Chaos breeds opportunity.

2020 came + COVID hit the US + all of our cross country trips got shut down. Time to pivot. One day during COVID we were passing through our little hometown of DeLand, FL + saw a “For Lease” sign in the window of the most charming, beautiful, historic building. We pulled over to peek in the windows. I gushed about the tall tin ceilings + next thing I know Tyler (my husband) is calling the leasing number + setting an appointment to see the space.

We signed a lease two days later. I was scared shitless. I thought he was out of his mind. The world is in the middle of a pandemic + we just signed a lease to open a business. I will never forget the conversation we had in the truck that day, I was telling him how scared I was, he turned to me + said, “What’s the worst that happens?” I replied, “We fail!” he said, “So what, then we do something else”. It was that simple to him.

Well, fast forward. We didn’t fail! We created a wildly successful boutique. It’s been more than I could have ever dreamt for.

We’ve been in our location Downtown DeLand for six amazing years. Each year we’ve had between 11-17% growth from the previous year. (In the boutique world, that is amazing! Did you know we also have a 54% retuning customer rate?!! That’s super uncommon + THANK YOU!) We’ve had so many fun events. Holiday store flips, Boutique Crawls, Warehouse Sales, Anniversary Celebrations. I’ve been so honored to be apart of so many of our customer’s lives. From having babies, seeing those babies grow, being the place you come when you’ve had an exceptionally good or bad day + either getting to cheer you on or cheer you up, we’ve been the place you go to. That is not lost on me. I am truly forever grateful to you all for allowing Baker & Co. to be a part of your life. Without all of our amazing customers, we wouldn’t have seen this type of success.

So then why am I closing?

Three years ago my husband had the opportunity of a lifetime (you’ve already gotten a sense of his fearlessness) to take on a new role with a company originally based out of Baltimore. That career move took him to the Tampa/St. Pete area. The owner of that company + Tyler then started a version of that company based in St. Pete that he now co-owns. The company has exploded + become extremely successful. We’ve bought + completely renovated a home on the water there, it’s beautiful.

Let’s be frank, my husband’s career is there + he’s not moving back to DeLand. If you asked me a year ago if I’d ever get rid of Baker & Co. my answer would have been no. But now that the house is finished, I’ve spent eight months traveling back + forth trying to juggle two homes, a business, employees, customers, products, buying, styling, shipping… I mean the list could go on. The truth is I don’t want to juggle it all anymore. I miss my husband. I want to spend as much time with him as possible. Being a weekend wife isn’t cutting it anymore for me.

Two things can be true at the same time.

So thats where my new mantra “two things can be true at the same time” comes in. I love my store so much, I will forever be proud of what I have built. But the truth is I love my husband more. We’ve missed three years of being together daily + I don’t want that to be our life. I know no matter how hard it is to close this chapter, I know in my heart it’s time for the next one.

There are so many more factors that went into my decision to close B&Co.

I debated what to do for months, before I even knew I was really ready. There are so many other contributing factors to this decision that I’ll write more about later. More behind the scene + more of my true feelings about being a business owner, having employees, the town, why I didn’t sell, why I didn’t find a manager etc. All of the questions my family has asked, I’m sure you will too!

So what’s next?

Honestly? I’m not entirely sure. On January 1st I always like to pick a word of the year and journal about it. This year my word was “Freedom”. That came to mind before I had any feeling about closing. Ironic huh? I want to experience freedom for the rest of the year, I want to recover from years of burnout + stress, I want to travel, I want to read a book at 2pm on a Tuesday because I can, I want to wake up next to my husband every day (even if he snores, ugh), I just want to slow down and enjoy life. Rest my nervous system. Who knows where the wind will take me. I did make sure I kept my name, socials + website just incase 😉

Be sure to keep following on Insta or Facebook, there will be store updates, info on sales + more to see there!

Thank you for an amazing six years. Thank you for allowing me to follow my dreams + accomplishing things that the little girl in me couldn’t even imagine. I will be forever grateful for your love + support of Baker & Co. Home Mercantile. 🤍

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