A Love Letter to Marissa, Founder of Etico

2/26/2021

Happy February—the month of all the love! And I LOVE love, so I love February! I’m dedicated this blogpost to Marissa, an individual who showed me one of the BEST ways (in my opinion) to love someone—by believing in her. And that “her” was me. I’m only one of the many gals Marissa believes in, empowers, and motivates, though. She runs Etico, a small boutique in Fort Worth. Etico carries various handcrafted products and local treasures. The one commonality in all the vendors—they’re women. But that’s just my short elevator pitch of the store. It’s so much more than that, and I give all the credit to the woman behind the counter—Marissa.

Meeting Marissa

Meeting Marissa led to one of the most inspiring and informational conversations I’ve had in a while. After three hours working at a coffeeshop, I felt the real tug of retail therapy. I’m not proud of it and it’s not a cheap pass-time by any means, but here we are. My mind was running with the millions of things I managed to accomplish in those three hours— learning how to navigate Square and its platform to launch products, research I was doing on packing slips to seal my prints, and little bits of homework I fit into the spaces as “work breaks.” Ironic—homework becomes the break of the work. Glossy or matte? Should I stick my business cards in it? What size though? 5 by 7 or 4 by 4? Grainy looks are trendier right now, though…but clarity is sleek.

Yeah, try being in my mind when I’m in work mode. It’s overwhelming. So that’s when the real break comes in—I went for a walk around the block to see the cute shops on Magnolia.

And that’s when I walked into Etico.

No one else was in there when I walked in but Marissa. She welcomed me with a smile. Yes—she was wearing a mask, but her smile was just that evident. I commented on the cute shop this was, and how I’ve never been here. That was Marissa’s cue to give her spiel of Etico’s mission and products.

Marissa was so easy to talk to—she spoke with purpose and inspiration, she asked me what I was passionate about, and she had this spark to her that is pretty uncommon. I couldn’t put my finger on naming that spark at first, but as I started writing, it was crystal clear: Marissa believes the best in people. And I loved it.

When she showed me around the different tables and areas of the small shop, she talked about the person behind each product, the crafter behind each craft. If only the retail industry was as simple and intentional as this!; the gift of being able to hear the crafter’s story because that creative soul put their heart in it. You get to advocate and support him/her in those passions instead of pay for an item that nowadays, usually flows through multiple systems in which the crafter is lost in the equation.

In other words, the shop was so much more than a transaction; it was an experience that was empowering as she talked about how awesome each woman was—the woman that made all-natural makeup, the female intern who started her own line of masks because, well—COVID.

She spoke with passion and there was no doubt in my mind that she knew even more about each woman she advocated for in the shop.

Passion pops up!

Passion or pain? Hustle or hurdle?

My short walk-in ended up becoming an engaging conversation about running a small business, the ins and outs of local selling, and the importance of the “why” behind it all. I shared my books with her. For the first time in a long time, that spark of excitement came back to me. Endless hours of hopeless emails that bounce back or are never responded to. Donations outweighing the amount of sold books. I was discouraged and tired.

I brought up an idea of a pop-up to Marissa, and while I was cautious about my pitch because I knew that it was a long shot, I was taken aback when Marissa said, “Yes! Let’s do it!”

So much of my passion became a pain and my hustle a hurdle. All it took was one person to not only say “I believe in you” but then show me that she really did. Together, we planned a pop up. We shared the promotion efforts and turned an ordinary Saturday into a fun pop-up where I got to sell my book and she got to advocate for other women’s products/creations.

It was so much more than that, though. Marissa didn’t just sell my books. She gave me an opportunity to work; an opportunity to showcase my passions; an opportunity to tell my story, and an opportunity to prove that my books were worth shelf space.

Us small business owners get giddy when passion and opportunity meets because it’s so hard to put yourself out there while also staying humble to your why. In a world that only offers shelf space to best sellers and products that only sell because they are trendy and cheap makes it real difficult for a creative to actually be creative without falling into the depths of discouragement.

Marissa was (and is) such a breath of fresh air; she has taught me so many invaluable lessons on

staying true to your “why”
professionally communicating with influencers and management
staying humble but bold in advocating for yourself and others
being the bigger person despite your age
not devaluing your worth by dropping your prices to compensate for more sales
tips + tricks on targeted outreach and meeting your audience
the importance of holding on to the good faith. There are going to be days that are popping and thriving, and slow days that feel like you’re stuck in the mud. It always goes back to remembering that “why”
always welcoming everyone with compassion and enthusiasm because even if you’re having a bad day, you can brighten someone else’s!

Most importantly, Marissa taught me the courage to never give up, the persistence to persevere in my passions, and the feeling of what it’s like to have someone believe in you. The world is a better place because you’re in it!

For everyone reading this who isn’t Marissa—my encouragement for you is this:
In the end, people aren’t going to remember what you did or said or made, but how you made them feel. Marissa does that real well and I believe we are called to do that, too; to live a life where we love others with excellence.

Go give Marissa a visit at Etico and hear from the woman herself! Marissa will ALSO be keynoting a sustainability conference on June 12th called Slow Down Symposium in Fair Park (Dallas, TX). Her talk will about how choosing to live more sustainably and centered enhances our connectedness with ourselves, each other, and the planet. You can get tickets with the link below!

Dallas is about to slow down!
Here at Curate Local, we’re always looking for ways to live more sustainable, intentional lives. From the clothes we wear to the food we eat to the ways we spend our time, we strive to be responsible and thoughtful as we opt more and more for our community over consumerism. Enter The Slow Down Symposium, an event in collaboration with The Considerary, celebrating your imperfect progress toward a more sustainable world!

get tickets

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