To Amanda Refuge — proprietor of Oak Harbor’s newest and most Instagrammable small enterprise, All Issues New Shoe Boutique — sneakers are extra than simply style.
“There’s so many issues that you may study from somebody simply by their sneakers,” Refuge mentioned.
She believes they’ll reveal an individual’s temper, what they’re as much as or their persona.
“Our sneakers are a part of our story,” she mentioned, her phrases echoed by the charms on her sneakers — a Black lady in a commencement cap and “God is my energy.” A easy look at her lime Crocs had already revealed two foremost components in Refuge’s story: ambition and hope.
On June 17, three years after the concept of beginning her personal enterprise got here to thoughts, she lastly reduce the ribbon, welcoming prospects to her boutique at 31600 Freeway 20 — subsequent to AT&T — the place they’ll discover heels, boots, sneakers, coaching sneakers or sandals.
In a method, identical to her sneakers, All Issues New’s interiors replicate Refuge’s story and style. “She believed she might, so she did,” are the phrases printed on one of many framed mirrors. Inside, the previous hair salon seems to be frozen in springtime with its DIY decor: pink blossoms cascading from the ceiling, pink butterflies resting on a framed ivy wall, and big pink roses made from paper. Even the sunshine swap plates catch the attention with their fuchsia glitters.
Refuge, who initially moved from Nevada to serve at Whidbey’s Navy base in 2002, mentioned she inherited her ardour for sneakers — and her title, Amanda — from her late grandmother.
“My grandmother had so many pairs of sneakers,” she mentioned. “I cherished how each morning, when she would go to work, she would have on a special pair that may match what she was carrying.”
Refuge’s grandmother grew up on a farm within the south beneath the Jim Crow legal guidelines, and for a very long time couldn’t afford to purchase sneakers. As she grew to become extra financially secure, she started to gather them, and Refuge remembers fondly the instances they might go shoe purchasing collectively.
As we speak, she is the primary particular person in her household to ever personal a enterprise.
“We’re sort of trailblazing with our household,” she mentioned, describing the expertise of venturing into entrepreneurship with out prior expertise as a leap of religion.
“It’s about constructing legacy — exhibiting my children that ‘If mother and pop can do it, we will do it,’” she mentioned. “In case you have a burning want to do one thing, do it. Life is simply too brief to be afraid. And the worst factor about failing shouldn’t be making an attempt in any respect.””
She is grateful to her husband, Thomas, who helps run the store whereas she works full time as a case supervisor in Skagit County.
“He’s been the painter, the carpenter, the accountant — every part that I want. The opposite factor he hasn’t executed was mannequin a pair of sneakers for me,” she joked.
Refuge additionally mentioned she is grateful to the neighborhood and Oak Harbor’s Chamber of Commerce for his or her assist.
“It’s been nice,” she mentioned. “ It’s like, ‘There’s sufficient room for all of us, so I’m going that can assist you as effectively.’”
Refuge strongly believes in supporting native small companies like hers, which she mentioned are “the spine of the neighborhood.”
“It’s good to know that if I stroll right into a retailer, it’s my neighbor’s retailer. It’s not owned by somebody that we’ll by no means be capable to meet,” she mentioned. “If we store at our mother and pop’s retailer, we all know it’s going again into the neighborhood.”
