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StyleSouth
ROUGE NOIR BROUGHTON STREET ULTIMATE ESCAPE’S
BRINGING A POP OF COLOR TO SAVANNAH
DESIGNER AND ENTREPRENEUR EMILY MCCARTHY TALKS HER NEW FLAGSHIP STORE AND WHAT’S TO COME FOR HER BRAND.
If an artist is a reflection of his or her own creations, then Emily McCarthy is a colorful, bold and fearless designer. Her posh taste and chic aura blend seamlessly with the interior of her new flagship shop in Savannah. For the past three years, McCarthy has managed her gift and paper boutique business online. With the opening of her first flagship store, the Emily McCarthy Shoppe, the designer is ecstatic to have an operating space with as much character as her designs. “This used to be a salon for like 20 years,” McCarthy said. “And we needed an office and studio that was completely connected to the store so that we can run our online business and still be a part of the store. We just needed more room to grow.” After earning her bachelor’s in graphic design and photography from LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga., McCarthy continued to practice her technique as both a designer and creative entrepreneur. “I come from a background in stationery and gifts,” she said. “I started out in college working for a small stationary store, then worked for a stationary company, like a wholesale company, right out of college.” McCarthy’s experience in the gift and stationery retail realm prepared and inspired her to design her own products and pursue her passion for artful conception. She said her favorite part of the creative process is the designing. “There’s something about imagining something in my head and seeing how it comes together. There’s something really rewarding about that.” According to McCarthy, the general response to her new Abercorn location has been overwhelmingly positive. “The biggest compliment that I think we get is when people walk in and say, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this in Savannah. This is just so out-of-the-box. You have to open more stores.’ So that’s definitely very rewarding to hear. And I always like to push the envelope. My main goal is to design things that aren’t out there.” For now, McCarthy and her equally-as-colorful team are focused on developing their brand and presence in the city further by creating more unique designs. “We’re really just kind of going to get to know the Savannah markets. Since most of our business has been online at a national level, I am interested in how we could tailor to the local customers. As a designer, I’m thinking about the next new thing.” McCarthy welcomes curious shoppers to her online shoppe, emilymccarthy.com. The new store, at 2828 Abercorn St., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. •
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