There's still time to shop for the perfect gift!

Are you finished with your holiday shopping and preparations? I'm sure not! If you are still looking for just the right gift for someone special our Women Take Wing! members maybe able to help you. Below are just a few of the lovely gifts available at member's online boutiques.

Fringe Studio Candles


Fringe Studio is known for luxurious candles encased in printed glass. The imagery is unique, artistic and reminiscent of mixed media artwork. You will find a selection of Fringe Studio candles at Soul of the Rose Gifts. ($18.50 to $40.00)

Tokyo Milk Petit Parfum Solide


Delightfully fragranced travel sized pots of solid perfume packaged in a beautifully hand glittered slide box with several mini note cards for a special treat! We love little art!! Also available at Soul of the Rose Gifts for $18.00

Soul of the Rose Gifts is also offering free ground shipping on all orders over $40 through 12/16/09!

Large Versailles Architectural Grey Metal Crown


Large Grey Zinc colored Metal Crown, perfect to mix in with your shabby chic or more elegant French Decor. Seen all over Europe with candles and religious statues, on outdoor table vignettes in the garden, on Ivy Urns by front doors and nestled in garden plantings. Measures 9-3/4" x 11-1/4". ($38.00) Available at French Garden House.

Ivory Cream Feather Holiday Tree


Exquisite Cream Feather Tree to make all your Holiday dreams come true! Perfect to showcase all your special ornaments, tree is planted in an Ivory Urn. Measures 19" high. ($49.00) Also available at French Garden House.

Happy shopping!

Kim Sharifi - Soul of the Rose Gifts

At Women Take Wing! we celebrate each and every member's successes. Each woman has a unique story to tell and via our Member Features we enjoy sharing their inspiring stories with you!

Kim Sharifi of Soul of the Rose Gifts has been a member of our community for many years. This busy woman juggles family life with a full time day job, family business needs, and still manages to find time to nurture and grow her own on-line boutique!

Q. What gave you the courage to take the leap into your own business?

A. It was not so much courage but rather a feeling of passion that lead me to start my business. I studied retail buying in college and I have many years of varied retail management experience working for large name corporations, but I needed a place to channel my creative side. I originally began my business in a rented booth space in the local antique mall selling all sorts of vintage pretties about 5 years ago. I then transitioned to a small boutique in the downtown village and now I am the proprietor of an on-line boutique. In the beginning I remember feeling that if I did not get this business started that I would simply bust! I was very determined but remained open to the evolving pathway that my business took. I have always known that I had a eye for creatively bringing about a distinctive assortment of goods from many different artists/designers that present as indulgent gifts and contribute to what I call a "soulful experience."


Q. Name one person who has inspired you, and how.

A. I would have to say it was the queen of inspiration herself, Miss Amy Powers, who inspired me to go after the on-line boutique. I had already been in business for a few years when I stumbled upon her website. I remember one afternoon in my shop e-mailing six quick business questions about e-commerce to her through her website, I thought she looked friendly and might answer my message someday. She got back to me in ten minutes! Over the course of a few years Amy has served as a wonderful support for me. I could not have done what I have with my online boutique with out Amy’s help. She is a very giving person that consistently thinks of others. It is the mark of a fine person when you see them mentioned often by others as a source of inspiration. I owe her a lot of praise and heartfelt thanks.


Q. What is the most rewarding part of your business

A. Every aspect of Soul of the Rose is rewarding for me but what makes Soul of the Rose really meaningful to me is the ability to dedicate a percentage of the business to charity. For me personally I was looking for a way to make a difference and add some dimension to retail that I felt was missing. It was not enough to just find nice things, mark them up, sell them and hopefully make a profit. With the Soulful Giving program I am able to make a contribution to organizations that make an impact in our world, country and my community. That is rewarding to me and I think it is meaningful to my customers as well.


Q. What is the most ‘bothersome” part of your business? How do you get through it?

A. Like most entrepreneurs I wear many hats and I have diversified business interests. I have a busy day job with a large construction firm as a construction coordinator/administrator that I love and I am not ready to leave yet. My husband and I also own flooring and home improvements stores. It is fair to say that I am busy but organized. The only thing that could be thought of as perhaps bothersome would be the fact that Soul of the Rose is a part time business. Life is a journey and while it seems like the destination is where it is at – in reality it is the journey itself. As I try to nurture that idea in my business I know that the time will come when Soul of the Rose will be the full time career that I transition to from my present career when the time is right.

Q. If you could start another business what would it be?

A. Soul of the Rose Gifts is the perfect business for me and I cannot really envision another that fits so perfectly with my life and family at this time. I have the opportunity to conduct the on-line boutique in addition to my present day career simultaneously as the e-commerce activity continues to build. I judge it this way - if money were no object and I could do what ever I wanted I would probably be doing just what I am doing. I think that is a good sign that I am on the right track!


Soul of the Rose Gifts offers a unique mix of treasures for women, children and the home that is truly soulful and indulgent. In addition to Kim's unique gift selection, we are proud to say she is also a dedicated giving boutique, donating a full 10% of sales to charitable organizations that support families at risk facing poverty, abuse or medical crisis.

Waning Seasons Find Us All Busy Busy!

(photo courtesy of Ruth Cox)

Here in the Pacific Northwest, Summer is a fleeting memory and Autumn is nearly out the door too! So busy has the season been, that we have sorely neglected our blog. While we haven't posted our comings and goings, ALL of our members are busily preparing for the holidays. They are tending to their shelves, their sites and their customers with all of the attention to detail we have come to love and anticipate. See our newest Member Features (to the left) and be sure to visit each our member sites to see what new offerings they have for your holiday shopping.

Vote for Terry Grahl and help make a difference!

Terry Grahl is the Founder and President of Enchanted Makeovers, an internationally recognized non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization that transforms shelters for women and children into places of peace and possibilities—not just where basic needs are met, but spiritual needs for hope and beauty also. Enchanted Makeovers relies on donations of time, talent and funding from individuals, businesses and corporations to transform shelters into lovely, nurturing places where women and their children can start new, happy and healthy lives from.

You have the opportunity to make a difference and contribute to Terry's efforts simply by casting a vote! Terry was one of 10 women featured on Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doer's blog and each woman has been entered in a contest for Favorite Doer of the Week. The winner will win $2,500 for her business. Poll voting is now underway and votes may be cast until 5 pm ET on October 2.

Each woman featured is inspiring and deserving, but we are so deeply touched by what Terry and her team are doing for other women. Just think what $2,500 could do, and the difference it WILL make! Please go to Dreamers into Doers, right now, and vote for Terry Grahl.

For more information on Enchanted Makeovers and/or to contribute to their efforts, please visit their website or blog.

Big Changes Coming for All Online Credit Card Processors

How many of you open and read all the notices that come from your credit card processing companies? You know, those additional pieces of paper that come each month with writing so small that you need a magnifying glass to read? Well, if you process credit card sales with a computer in any way, shape or form, change is coming. In 2010 any merchant who uses a computer to process sales must meet strict security guidelines against hackers. This means absolutely everyone. This change is not just a compliance rule for processors, but you too. Your computer should be tested to ensure that in cannot be hacked. Do not assume that your online processing "has this covered." We are encouraging our members and our readers to contact your credit card processing company now to find out what steps need to be taken to protect yourself and your company. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Taking A Long Hard Look At Holiday Debt

It's summer! The sun is shining (in most areas), beaches and vacations beckon and the long cold days of winter are the last thing on our minds...unless you are a retailer. For every retailer, this is crunch time. Bring on the Christmas, the Hanukkah, the snowmen and the fa la la. Orders are placed, terms are being negotiated, themed window displays are being built or planned. In a few short weeks, those boxes marked "sell by Christmas" will be tucked in back rooms, basements, under checkout stations, broom closets and wherever else they can be stashed...if they're not already being put out onto shop floors. Even for this long ago retailer, my heart races at the memories of the holiday ordering rush.

But this holiday season, before you reach for the trusted credit card with the promo rate of 3.99% through February or negotiate your awesome 90 day terms, stop for just a moment and do a little simple math. How much inventory are you holding now? How much debt is your business carrying today? How long will you have to maintain current sales to pay that debt off? Calculate how much you are buying on credit today and try like crazy to purchase as close to what you can sell before the end of the year. So often, we get a little punch drunk at the shows and over the great offers. But we forget to project actual sales against actual expenses and then we end up carrying debt and extra inventory far into next year. Let me put it this way, every dollar you charge is taking a dollar out of your till tomorrow before you've even opened turned on your lights. So take a few moments to add up your orders and simply ask yourself, "Can I sell it all by Christmas?" If the answer is not a definitive yes, then consider stepping away from the punch bowl and making merry with less...it might bring more to your bottom line come Dec. 31st.

Can There Ever Be Too Much Of A Good Thing?

In this volatile economy this post might seem strange to some, but I've had to ask myself recently, "is there too much work?" My answer was a clear, resounding, "YES". I am a service provider (a bookkeeper) and in January my phone began to ring and it has not stopped. I live in a small community where word of mouth means more than a two page write up with color pictures. The people calling me all know me well or are connected to someone I know well. I NEVER like to say no to anyone who needs me, it's one of the reasons I love what I do. People need me. I suspect many of us are like this.

In recent months friends and family have told me I seem too busy but I thought I was coping...until last week. Not one, but two clients, kindly and gently, told me I had dropped the ball for them. Nothing catastrophic, the IRS won't come knocking, checks didn't bounce, but certainly out of character for a hyper-organized Virgo like myself. When I shared my conversations with my friend/mentor and my family later in the week, they were rallying to my defense - as all loved ones would do, of course. But I didn't meet the words of my clients with defensive posturing. Instead, I took out last year's daily calendar and compared it to this year's. Wow, what a difference a year can make. I am over booked and double booked and there is no way that one woman can fulfill the needs of this new calendar. I got busy calling and emailing clients to re-schedule this week and next. This week has gone well and next week I will even be able to meet a friend for lunch.

The point I am trying to share is that for a "pleaser" like myself and especially in this economy, saying no to people and the work they offer, is very difficult. But in order to be successful - truly successful - we must create good, healthy boundaries in order to preserve the quality of what we wish to offer the world.