Introduction to Elysian Co. Staff Spotlights

What started out as a quick interview with Elysian Co. Store Owner, Elise, soon morphed into a great preface for an introduction to the staff at Elysian Co. Over the next few weeks, you’ll get fun introductions of each person who pours their heart into the store. With that said, here is a prologue from Elise’s point of view.

The origination of Elysian Co. came from a post Elise came across on Pinterest which defined the word elysian as beautiful, creative, divinely inspired, peaceful and perfect. “I felt like if I wanted to pursue something, I would want it to point to that. To be an inspiration to people, to be a creative space for myself, and to get others creative in their home with our home decor or with their wardrobe. Just to feel beautiful because every person is truly beautiful and I want every person to feel that way when they come into the store.”

The concept of Elysian as a store, however, stemmed from Elise’s love of boutique shopping and her interest in style and fashion. Elysian began in 2015 as an online store and orders were fulfilled out of Elise’s spare bedroom when she lived in Warsaw. Elise did little pop-ups in town and brought along her sisters, Tina and Rochelle. Elise didn’t know it at the time, but one of those pop-ups would be her last before becoming a brick and mortar business. At this specific pop-up, the Chamber of Commerce approached Elise and asked if she was interested in utilizing a space downtown to test out her business venture, free of cost for the months of November and December. At that time Elise had a full-time job working as a Sales Rep, so she reached out to her mom, Patty. “It was a huge risk because I couldn’t guarantee her work after December of 2015. But, she took a leap of faith and I did, too. She was the reason the store could open because she could devote her full time.” In addition to Patty, Elise hired on her sisters, Rochelle and Tina and another great friend, Ameka to fill in through the week. The holiday season came and went and customers began to ask if she was making this a permanent spot for Elysian Co. When asked how she responded to those customers, Elise said, “in my heart of hearts I just knew. Some things I just know and I’m going to chase down wholeheartedly. So, I signed a lease in January of 2016.” 

From the very beginning, the staff of Elysian Co. knew Elise’s heart and wanted to carry her dream into fruition. Patty, Elise’s mother has been there from the start for almost six years, which is such a big deal! It’s not often you see the Store Manager stay with a company for the entirety of its existence. Angela is another one of Elise’s sisters who started from day one as she helped with intake and steaming in Elise’s spare bedroom. Though, she started full-time a little after Elysian moved to the storefront and has been with the store for 4.5 years. Tina and Rochelle still love to fill in here and there, but Rochelle has been doing behind-the-scenes work throughout the 6 years, too. Rileigh initially worked at the store’s second location in Goshen and became the manager there. She gladly made the adjustment to the Warsaw store and has been working for the company for 2.5 years. Maddie and Kensie are sisters who started out shopping at Elysian with their mom. They all have always been loyal customers and it was such an easy transition from customer to employee.

In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for more blog posts introducing each member of Elysian Co. Staff spotlights to come...