The idea for Boutique Boxes came to me one evening when my friends and I were trying to plan a beach vacation, a girl's weekend away. Though we all really wanted to do this, it was nearly impossible to schedule it due to the time constraints of running businesses. One of my friends ran a gift shop/oddities shop in a small town nearby, one ran a tea room with a gift shop, and then there was me, with a finger in so many craft pies that it was laughable. Since my business was mostly online, I was the most flexible, but my girlfriends kept mentioning the need to "go to market" and look for new products. It turned out that the only way they were going to get a vacation was to turn it in to a business trip. As they talked about how hard it was to find someone to run the shops in their absence, so they could go to the Atlanta Gift Market, and yet how essential it was to keep fresh, original products in stock, a light bulb went off.

As a crafter myself, I am the manufacturer. I produce luxurious handmade soaps, lotions, bath bombs, body butters, and creams. I frequently attend "soap gatherings" and belong to many yahoo groups with other crafters like myself. One of the topics that often comes up is the desire to break into the wholesale market. Unfortunately, many crafters, like myself are too busy making product to take the time to visit local businesses with samples and it is too expensive to mail samples and brochures out to businesses on a widespread basis. The more that I thought about it, the more clear it became. Eureka! My problem was the flip side of the problem that my friends, the shop-owners had. Crafters need to get their product into stores and the stores need new products on a regular basis. Naturally my friends and I were already doing this, but how could we help other crafters and store owners?

Boutique Boxes were created as an answer to that question. Artisans and crafters can pay postage once to send in product samples along with literature (brochures, price lists, wholesale contracts, etc) to one central location and reach multiple businesses. Businesses can pay a small fee to get product samples from many different artisans and crafters and spend less than they would by ordering individual samples and paying postage for each. With this system, everyone benefits!

So about me...I write a little, paint a little, and garden enthusiastically. I have 2 grown children, one teenager (a delightful 15 year old daughter), a wonderful husband, a fantastic grandson, and a dog and a cat. Before Boutique Boxes was born, I wore a few other hats. I am the list owner/moderator of the Beginner Soapmaking group on Yahoo, designed to offer help to those who are new to the wonderful craft of soapmaking, and I am the webmaster for the Alabama Soap Meeting. I created Chappell Farms Soap & Lotions which I have been running since 2003. Most of my sales are online, except for the "I tried my friend's and I have to have some" local word of mouth sales. I know from experience what my customer's like to see, and I have ready input from my friends about what their customers want. I also know what I, as a consumer, would like to see. I pledge to showcase only quality products in Boutique Boxes.

It is my goal to offer an affordable means for business owners and artisan's to connect and to forge long-lasting relationships that will benefit all involved. In my dreams, everybody wins! My goal is to see everyone feel like a winner!

Alison Chappell
Boutique Boxes

email Click on the envelope to send us an email (alison@boutiqueboxes.com),

or call (205) 936-1590 today! We look forward to hearing from you.