Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marni Truelove. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marni, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
CONSIGNMENT FOR A CAUSE
Thank you for inquiring about the cause Wear It Well supports. My name is Marni Truelove and this is the origin story of the boutique and how our carefully curated collection of sustainable, preloved designer fashions has helped to bring water to those in need.
In 2017, my husband and I moved to a farm in Columbia, TN and I began looking for a way to serve my small community and impact the larger world. Then one Sunday we heard the founder and CEO of charity:water speak and something sparked. I felt challenged to find a way to weave purpose and generosity into my work. Challenged to make my life meaningful—more than successful. Some might call it a mid-life crisis. But I prefer “awakening”.
So I began learning about charity: water. This inspiring non-profit raises awareness and funds that are invested in local partners to build sustainable community-owned water projects all over the world. I decided I wanted to be part of their mission to bring clean, safe drinking water to every single person on the planet.
To create a revenue stream, Wear It Well consignment boutique was born with its mission to donate 10% percent of every sale to fund clean water projects for charity:water.
OUR GOALS
Charity:water estimates that a project can run anywhere from $10,000 to more than $25,000, depending on location, resources etc. So I set the boutique’s goal at $10,000 and we opened our doors on February 12, 2020–right before a pandemic. Covid definitely presented challenges for every business owner and like so many others I realized I had to pivot to prosper. I started photographing the best treasures on our racks, piece by piece and I hired a team to create our website—which has since become THE place for thrifty shoppers to preview and purchase our newest preloved designer arrivals.
We have developed a number of friendships and a multitude of loyal thrift shoppers and consignors who have chosen action over apathy. I couldn’t be happier watching an idea become a successful reality.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
DID YOU KNOW -that 1 in 10 people lack access to clean water?
-that diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence—including war!
-that access to clean water improves health, empowers women, raises education levels, boosts economies and gives hope.
On Giving Tuesday, November 30, 2021, we donated our first $10,000. Now, 21 months or so later we look forward to charity:water furnishing GPS coordinates of the location where our first donation was deployed so all of our shoppers and consignors can see how buying secondhand fashions can impact the world.
Just one year later, on Giving Tuesday 2022, we fully funded our second $10,000 water project. Now we are working on our third. Hopefully with a fourth to follow.
Thank you to all of our shoppers and consignors who support our clean water mission. Your generosity brings not just short-term wellness but generational change.
DO YOU REALIZE that we could solve the water crisis in our lifetime?
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
It sounds so cliche but you have to believe in yourself, your vision, your unique skills and gifts. I feel like I have been preparing for this moment most of my career. I began at an advertising agency in Canada then moved to managing a publishing company that produced a number of magazine titles. Once I moved to the United States I landed a role in 1994 at The Tennessean, once again overseeing magazine development. A decade later I moved into the marketing department to oversee the development and growth of the brand.
All along the way, I have considered myself to be in “skill acquisition mode”–to learn how to do things well and to implement what I’ve learned to effect change.
The three ingredients that have helped me on this journey:
1) Organization
2) Passion
3) Persistence
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
Open less than four years, I am delighted to reveal that we have no supply chain issue problems. I have more requests from potential consignors than there are days in the week. I see a new consignor every day and with only so many days each month, I often deliver disappointing news to ladies I cannot fit on our calendar. We are already booked solid through the end of December with a waiting list for January appointments. I can only process 30 or so items each day and then I take time to photograph all the cute pieces to post to our website–where all of my regulars know to go to preview our newest arrivals.
Contact Info:
- Website: weartitwellboutique.com
- Instagram: @wearitwellboutique
Image Credits
Marni Truelove
