Photograph by Hatsue
Starting a business is tough. And survival rates aren’t great, especially as years go on: Less than 38 percent of businesses that opened a decade ago were still around last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fleurish Home is not only beating those odds—it’s thriving.
Since opening in 2013, the home decor-turned-gift store has actually grown its operations, with storefronts in Hamilton, Loveland, and Springboro. Owner Debra Campbell attributes the growth of her gift and home decor empire to three factors: flexibility, listening to community demand, and specialization.
Photograph by Hatsue
Campbell, who previously owned a decorative finishing business, started Fleurish Home purely as a home decor shop in 2013. But the Springboro location—Fleurish’s first—was just the beginning.
Photograph by Hatsue
“You can’t sell furniture well in a 1,500-square-foot space,” Campbell says. “People would come in and say, ‘This is a great place to get a gift. What else do you have?’ ”
So Campbell gradually changed directions, stocking more candles at first, then expanding into dishes and serving ware. Seasonal decor and jewelry came next, while clothing followed suit when she opened Fleurish’s Main Street Hamilton location in 2017.
Campbell added clothing to the mix at the Hamilton shop in response to a need for affordable and fashion-forward apparel options for women in their 30s to 50s. As Campbell puts it, “[they] don’t want to wear Forever 21 anymore but can’t afford expensive designer clothes.”
Photograph by Hatsue
Today, apparel and jewelry account for one-third of Fleurish’s sales. “If you’re not always changing and evolving,” Campbell says, “you might as well hang that going-out-of-business sign.”
While every new location is a part of the larger Fleurish ecosystem, each shop has a different specialty based on the needs of its community. The latest store, which migrated to a bustling corner in downtown Loveland last year, stocks a large selection of Spiritiles, collectible copper and enamel art pieces just slightly larger than a brick. Clothing is most popular in Hamilton, in part because it’s also Fleurish’s busiest location. In Springboro, meanwhile, decor and seasonal items are most popular.
“A lot of customers will tell us we are their happy place,” Campbell says. “As an owner, I can’t think of a better compliment.”
Fleurish Home, 135 Main St., Hamilton, (513) 889-1837
Photograph courtesy Debra Campbell
Facebook Comments