Spotlight on Electric Cherry Shop + Studio
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Ally Skiba is the owner & founder of Electric Cherry Shop + Studios, a vibrant independent boutique specializing in curated vintage items, vinyl, fine art, & handmade goods. Our interview is below:
Q: Please introduce us to your work and your business.
A: Electric Cherry Shop + Studios: could be considered many things. But I like to think of it as a Grassroots Lifestyle Shop. At the core of Electric Cherry, there's three staples:
Sustainable goods, like Vinyl Records and Vintage Clothing
Independent makers, which all happen to be female owned and operated
Original Local Art, showcasing 80 Local Colorado artisans with diverse mediums, backgrounds, and sparks as to why they create.
The heartbeat of Electric Cherry is giving back, whether it be to our community and/or the planet, the message is to curate lightness and inspire that notion.
Q: What inspired you to start your own business?
A: I’ve always been a dreamer, even since I was a little girl. I would spend hours filling notebooks with comic & fashion sketches, discovering the macro magic of nature, and gratefully, many wonderful moments with my grandparents who gave me the freedom to truly be me. They were my first realization of unconditional love. This nostalgic warmth is something I carry with me each day, ultimately driving my passion to connect with the community, lift up the arts, and share stories through the unifying & timeless force of music.
Vinyl Records are very dear to my heart. My grandfather, who is a WWII vet, was a Manual Record Presser at Specialty Records in Scranton, PA until he retired. My grandparents have always incorporated music into their story, which has been profound for me and my family. My Ukrainian grandma would sing along to opera while she cooked homemade pierogies, afterwards she would dance the polka with me in the living room. My grandpa also loved to sing. He would plop me in the car and we would go on adventures until the Hank Williams cassettes popped out. This unmeasurable joy has led me into becoming a record store owner. These memories are instant kindred moments I can continue to share with the community for ages. Finding the yellow brick road back to my heart is truly how Electric Cherry Shop + Studios began.
Q: What resources have been most helpful to you in starting and growing your business?
A: With much gratitude, I currently sit on the Board of Directors in historic Olde Town, Arvada. When I first opened Electric Cherry Shop + Studios in January of 2020, I wasn’t aware of how welcoming the Olde Town, Arvada small business community truly was.
A few months in, I was approached by the Business Improvement District to get involved with the numerous events in town, local News spotlights, and join one of the committees that help Olde Town, Arvada thrive. After about a year, I applied for the Board and was selected to become the Marketing Chair, which is still one of my weekly commitments. By volunteering with these other local business owners, property owners, and the BID, I’m able to get to know the roots of this charming town and truly immerse Electric Cherry in this thriving community.
Indeed, this is added work, on the shoulders of a small business owner. But with that extra elbow grease grows fruitful advertising and engagement opportunities. Going into year three of working with this dynamic group of ambitious entrepreneurs, I am affirmed in these relationships and have grown friendships as well because of this resource.
Q: What business skills came most naturally to you versus what you've had to work hard to develop?
A: In the past four years of owning Electric Cherry, I’ve developed a new version of myself. A business woman who knows herself, what she stands for, who she represents, and where she’s going. This is a professional demeanor I strived deeply for in my twenties.
It wasn’t until I began putting the hard work into following my dreams, that this newfound strength and career determination started to blossom. As many young women can relate, this type of refinement takes time. There’s countless women I became in order to meet who I am today.
Getting across the message of who you are as a small business owner is vital. It helps the community get to know you and understand your aspirations. Storytelling has always been behind much of what I do on a daily basis, which makes communication the most natural business skill of mine. Finding the trust to allow this confidence to show, in say, a room full of fellow business owners, the chamber, aspiring female entrepreneurs, and city officials was the challenging aspect.
Q: Do you have any specific services or products you want to shout out?
A: Let’s give Vinyl one more shoutout. As deeply passionate as I am about music, I’m also feverishly driven by making change. Even if it’s just a ripple in the big sea of revolution. There’s many waves I’d like to make before I’m old and gray. Statistically speaking, music is a forum that lies very male dominated in production. This trickles into big box audio stores and independent record stores.
I can’t tell you how many record stores I applied at and wasn’t hired. Even though I had an undying love for a tune, big smile, and a heavy resume of retail experience. With that said, it feels full circle at this moment in time. In order to succeed, you must fail. This was the catalyst that drove me to open my own record store. I can’t think of one other female owned record store in the Mile High City. Which needs to change! When I work record expos like Rocky Mountain Record Show and Thriftcon, I’m the only female record store owner.
Often the crowd will ask my male CFO about the specs, bypassing my friendly greeting. This is an arena where I’d like to see more females taken seriously. I would like to see Electric Cherry inspire other women to dive into their musical passion and drive future generations of young females to follow their dreams. No matter how small they may feel doing so.
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