The Workshop: Where Crafting Meets Purpose

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:24] Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this morning, and today’s episode is brought to you in part by our Community Partner program, the Business RadioX Main Street Warriors Defending Capitalism, promoting small business, and supporting our local community. For more information, go to Main Street warriors.org and a special note of thanks to our title sponsor for the Cherokee chapter of Main Street Warriors, Diesel David Inc. Please go check them out at diesel. David.com. You guys are in for a real treat this morning. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with the workshop. Ms. Kimberly Mauriello, how are you?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:01:11] I’m good. Thank you for having me. Stone.

Stone Payton: [00:01:14] Oh, it’s a delight to have you in studio. We have a mutual friend, Myrna. How do you pronounce her last name? Myrna. Caesar.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:01:21] Caesar, Caesar, I believe.

Stone Payton: [00:01:23] All right. I just call her Myrna.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:01:24] I know, I could just call her Myrna.

Stone Payton: [00:01:26] Uh, so special thanks and shout out to to Myrna for putting us together. But I’ve really been looking forward to this conversation. I got a ton of questions. Uh, I’m sure we won’t get to them all, but maybe a great place to start would be if you could describe for me in our listeners mission. Purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:01:47] The workshop is kind of a hodgepodge of of things. Um, if anybody walks into the workshop, which I mean, a lot of people say, okay, the workshop, what is it? Um, people come in and say, okay, am I doing crafts? Am I building things? Am I doing, uh, you know, secretarial work, you know, what is it? Um, we do all different kinds of things. We are a workshop. We are a functioning.

Stone Payton: [00:02:18] This is a physical place.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:02:19] It is a physical place. You can walk in. And we have a window there in our back office. You can actually sit and watch us. So if you want to, we have, um, industrial sewing machines. We have embroidery machines. We have workspaces where we are actually working and crafting. Um, and so we are selling what we are crafting into the boutique that we have out front. We also invite the public into, um, public workshops that we offer. So we do workshops and classes in the evenings, on, on Saturdays where people can learn a new craft, they can learn a new skill, they can come in and have a girls night, they can have a date night. They can come in and have some fun and do make candles, learn leather working, do chunky blankets. They can come in and do whatever we have on the calendar. So we are a functioning workshop. Um, the other facet of it is we are a boutique, so you can come in and shop. Oh, wow. So not only are we making things, but I bring in, um, things from local artisans, but also global artisans. Everything that we have, somebody has carefully made with their hands and their heart. Um, so somebody has put their blood, sweat and tears into making something with their craft, with their heart and their art.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:03:43] And I sell that in the workshop boutique so you can come in and find unique, wonderful handmade gifts and items to give to, um, your friends and your relatives and your loved ones with knowing that somebody made something very special and so you can give something very special. Um, what’s near and dear to my heart is not only are those things made special, so they’re all a little bit unique. You’re not going to find just two alike. Yeah, because they are made by hand. But almost everything in there is made with a purpose. So you will find just about everything in there is made by a nonprofit. Zero. Most everything in there is made supporting a nonprofit, supporting a purpose of supporting a mission, whether it be rescuing young young women and girls out of trafficking, um, whether it be supporting, um, women, uh, leaving domestic violence, whether it be supporting artisans, just trying to put food on the table and building their communities and keeping their families together, whether it be supporting, um, orphanages, you know, whatever it is, the cause a lot of most of the products I have are all supporting those missions, those purposes. So not only are you buying wonderful, beautiful products, you are also supporting not only the artisans, their communities, their families, but also the greater missions that they’re supporting.

Stone Payton: [00:05:29] Wow, I love that I have a very artsy person in my life, my my wife Holly. Many of our listeners know Holly because she teaches a watercolor class over at the Reeves house. She was in murder on the Orient Express. She was more recently in Steel Magnolias. And I. While I have zero skill, I have a tremendous appreciation for art. And I have a sister in law in town who quilts and she won’t. She quilts them and then she she makes these beautiful quilts, and then she’ll give them to organizations like Circle of Friends or Enduring Hearts or somebody like, and then they auction them off and make money. So you’re very much in my world. So we’re going to come see you. Uh, and this place is, uh, easy to get to, right and close by.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:06:09] Yes, we are on highway 92 just before, if you’re coming westbound out of the city of Woodstock on 92, right before you get to 575. If you know where the Woodstock post office is, you will drive right by our building. You’re right behind the Starbucks. Um, right there by the goodwill, um, that I give those two landmarks. Um, and everybody knows where we are. Sure. Um, but, yeah, we, um, we’re kind of. Everybody calls us the hidden little gem when they find us. Um, they said how, you know, how did I not know you were here? And I’m like, well, we’re here. Yeah. And I raised my hand and I said, we’re here. Um, I’ve had no one come into the store and said, we hate your store. Um, everybody that I, you know. Has come in, said, I love your shop and it feels so warm, so cozy, so welcoming. I said, well, because unfortunately or fortunately, this is my home away from home. I spend a lot of time here and I’m going to be comfortable here if I’m going to stay here all day. I want this to be my home. And this is right. Right. Yeah. And I want people to come here and feel comfortable. And the other reason behind that is we also support a nonprofit.

Stone Payton: [00:07:24] I directly you guys directly us.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:07:27] Wow. Um, we support a firm foot forward, and I tell people everything in the workshop is the window dressing. Mhm. The real meat and potatoes behind the workshop is a firm foot forward. Is the nonprofit everything. Not only are you supporting the artisans that made the beautiful products and their missions, but everything in that place supports the nonprofit that we support. And that is the hope is to build relationships with organizations that are serving young women. Coming out of difficult circumstances. So young women that have come out of trafficking, coming out of domestic violence, coming out of addiction, coming out of homelessness, whatever their circumstances have been, they are transitioning out of those programs. They are survivors, they are recovering. They are winners, but they are not quite ready to just, you know, full steam ahead. Yeah, they are tiptoeing forward in many cases. Um, but they get lost in that middle ground and we’re hopefully the place where they can come in a safe, secure, comfortable environment where if they don’t have the job skills, they’ve never had a job. Um, we can give them those life lessons, those job skills, that opportunity to get that first income, to get that first job under their belt, to understand what it is to come to work every day, to understand what it is, to have a job, to have somebody stand up for them and says, yes, this person is reliable, this person is worthy.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:09:19] This person is, you know, give them a shot, give them a chance and give them the confidence and the moral boost to say, yes, you can do this. You can take a firm step forward and and go ahead with your life. Leave that old one behind. You can move forward. And so hopefully that’s the place that we become. And so that was part of building that comfortable, warm place is that is the place that they can come and be safe and work until they’re comfortable moving forward. Um, I’m hoping it becomes a place where they can become entrepreneurs and they can make their own products and they can sell their own products. That’s, you know, that’s the dream of a firm foot forward is they can be they, you know, they can make their own candle line. They can make their own jewelry line. They can make their own leather, you know, they whatever they want to be creative and make they can make and sell and support. Us and themselves. And again, they have then the whole, you know, enterprise to, um, to support them. You know, moving forward. So that is the whole dream of the workshop and a firm foot forward. Like I said, it’s kind of a hodgepodge of all different things, but that’s why they all work cohesively together. Um, yeah. That is.

Stone Payton: [00:10:42] How did it all start for you? What got you going down this path?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:10:46] Um, I guess maybe you can say it was a little bit of a midlife crisis or realization that, um, after. I will admit, I’m over 50. Um, my my kids are all growing. I’ve got one left at Etowah High School. Um, everyone else, um, is is growing, is is finding their niches and their paths forward. And it was finally time to say, okay, I’m no longer so and so’s mom and and just tired of being. I guess if I was going to put that many hours and blood, sweat and tears into something and work so many how to hard hours. Um, I’m not one to put just a little bit of effort into anything I.

Stone Payton: [00:11:35] Can tell I’ve known. I’ve known you for 15 minutes, and I can already say that about you. Um.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:11:40] I’m. I’m both feet in, and I’m, you know, head over, you know, um, or water over my head into everything. And, um, it’s like, if I’m going to do that, I want to make a difference, and I’m going to do something that matters. And so it’s like, okay. And years and years ago, I had the opportunity to kind of do a little bit of something and. Yeah, the Lord just says no, now is not the time. Not yet. And he yanked that away from me, and but he put me in a place where I learned just about every skill set that I needed to do what I’m doing now. He put me in a lot of different roles and a lot of different opportunities and. Fast forward, you know, ten, 12 years and paths crossed again with a few people. And it’s like, you know, I think now is the time. And I said, okay, I’m leaving my corporate job. And I said, I’m taking a chance. And the Lord put on my heart. It’s like, okay, I think this is the time and you’re going to do this. And I’m like.

Stone Payton: [00:12:51] Wow, what was that like when like you came home and you said, okay, honey, things are going to be a little different around, like, what was that?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:12:58] My husband is still reeling after that. He still thinks I’m kind of nuts after that. I mean, he’s bless him. He’s still he’s incredibly supportive, um, through this, because I can’t say it’s not been without its bumps and bruises and its hardships, and, um, but it’s it’s been scary. Um, it’s been very scary, but, um. But it has been so. So rewarding emotionally and spiritually.

Stone Payton: [00:13:30] And just what’s the most fun about it for you now that you’ve been at it a little while? You think?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:13:35] I had the people that I meet. It’s amazing and I can’t explain it other than. Divine intervention. I just I can’t explain it any other way other than. And Myrna is one of those people. I mean, the people that just walk into my place, into the workshop and just start talking and tell me their stories and share with me their experiences and, and open. I mean, there’s not necessarily, um, there are people that, you know, share with me that, you know, I’m a recovering alcoholic or I was in a shelter once, you know, thank you for what you’re doing. And in that.

Stone Payton: [00:14:12] Environment, they open up pretty quickly, it sounds like.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:14:15] Exactly. And so it’s like I’m like, okay, I’m in the right place. I’m doing the right thing. Even though some there’s some days it’s like, oh my gosh, what did I do? I’m like, I’ve got to be crazy. I’m like, okay, pull out the wand or pull out the employment ads and want ads because I’m applying for jobs again, I’m, you know, I can’t do this. Another I can’t do this another minute. And then somebody walks in and shares a story with me and it’s like, no, okay, no, I’m doing the right thing. I’m here, I’m doing it. And I’m just I’m so lucky. And that is the best part of my job. That is the best part of doing what I did, man.

Stone Payton: [00:14:55] So how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a physical retail kind of environment? I’ve never I’ve been in business for myself for 30 plus years, but I’ve never had a retail operation. What’s the sales and marketing thing like for something like, I mean, do you have to go out and shake the trees a little bit? Or if you build it, they’ll come or a little bit of both.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:15:16] If you can figure it out, tell me. Oh, okay. I mean, I will say. And I have a degree in marketing. That was that was my degree way, way eons ago. Go, gophers! Um. I’m sorry, I’m not sec. I’m big ten. So which is now what, like the big 22 or something like that?

Stone Payton: [00:15:38] Yeah. They got they’re merging and just like corporations now, right?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:15:41] Um, but, uh, it is so hard as a small business. And that’s what I love about Main Street Warriors. I mean, you go after and you help the little guy, we sure try. Um, because it is so true. I mean, and you hear everything about, you know, Google has changed its algorithms and, you know, Facebook has changed its algorithms. And so you, you know, trying to do Instagram and Facebook and this, but that and yeah, but you can’t say no, I’m not going to do it. Because on the off chance that it may work well, you need to still do it. So you’re pulling out your hair trying to do social media and keep up with it. And then it’s like, well, do you do Google Ads? Do you, do you know this and that? And um, then it’s like, okay, well, does print still work? And it’s like, now you talk to my miRNA and it’s like, yes, of course it still does work. You need to do that. Right? Right. Um, so I do do a little bit of print. Um, and yeah, you try to do as much publicity as you can. Um, it’s, it’s.

Stone Payton: [00:16:49] Noisy out there though, right?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:16:50] It is not, it’s, it’s still really who you know, and it’s still, um, I tell people share, share, tell everybody, you know, because it still comes down to the old fashioned spreading the word. Um, just tell. Tell your friend, tell your neighbor. Tell. You know, tell everybody you know, if you know, if you liked your experience, if you liked what you bought, you know, share it. Tell somebody. Um, because that still is, especially for small, um, small stores, small, um, especially brick and mortars. Um, that is how we grow is by people telling people about us.

Stone Payton: [00:17:29] Right? Right. So when you made this leap, did did you have the benefit of one or more mentors to help you kind of navigate this whole new landscape of running a business, or did you have to pretty much teach it to yourself?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:17:43] I pretty much taught it to myself. Um, I have a wonderful friend, Sheila, um, who is my mentor in what I say is the the crazy world of pulling kind of the nonprofit and working with a lot of the, um, the people that I know in the nonprofit world that started me on this. Um. And she still is my kind of my right hand. Um, she helped me, you know, set the shop. She helped me organize. She, you know, she. I still call her my my chief juicer. So a lot of times, if you see, all of a sudden somebody will come in and say, well, the store didn’t look like this last month. I said, no, because Sheila was in. So Sheila comes in and she’ll totally change everything.

Stone Payton: [00:18:37] And we should all have a Sheila in our lives, right?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:18:40] Exactly. So, um, so she still is very much a big part of, uh, of the shop and, um. But other than running the store and running the business and getting things off the ground, I pretty much did it on my own. Um, like I said, thankfully I had enough years business experience working with people and working in roles. That I had enough, I felt. To. It’s kind of figure things out that I wasn’t totally going in blind.

Stone Payton: [00:19:18] Yeah. So a lot of our listeners, as you might imagine, are either entrepreneurs running a small to medium sized business. Sometimes they are. They have to practice their craft, right, like they’re a business lawyer or they’re a CPA, but they may or may not have much actual business experience. I wonder if maybe as an entrepreneur, this kind of made it over that first hump anyway. And still, you know, out there fighting the good, good fight, uh, any kind of disciplines you’ve picked up or if you do’s or don’ts or words of encouragement or counsel, you might offer that, uh, that, that entrepreneur or even maybe the aspiring entrepreneur that.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:19:57] Um. I guess the biggest thing is stay organized as much as you can. And and that’s hard. And, um, I’ll say my experience right now is, um, working through getting ready for taxes. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. As much as I thought I was organized and, you know, all together, I’m realizing, well, I wasn’t as organized as I thought for last year. So I’m scrambling, pulling everything together and and buttoning everything up. Um, so even though you think you’re everything’s together, you’re probably not as together as you think you are. Um, so that is probably one of the biggest things is you may not think it’s as important as the accounting, um, and, you know, making sure that you have everything documented. Um, you may not think that at the time that that’s important, that that’s critical. Right? It will be it will come back and bite you. Um, it will um, unfortunately, that’s just the life of the world that we live in. Um, somebody’s going to come back and ask you for that information, and it’s better to have it at your fingertips, or at least know where it is. Then try to scramble at the last minute and try to, you know, find it.

Stone Payton: [00:21:17] Um, Amen. And timely advice, uh, going into tax season here. Yes.

Speaker4: [00:21:21] Yeah.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:21:21] Yeah. Um, thankfully as an I, my last role was a director of accounting. So at least I had some of that discipline in me already. So I was pretty meticulous about that. Um, just as one of me and not having a multiple clones, trying to do marketing and sales and purchasing and selling and marketing or and accounting and doing everything and trying to flip all the hats at one time. You know, it is hard, um, to somebody that wants to try and do it. You can do it. Um, it is it is doable. Um, be ready for a lot of long nights. Um, be ready for working, you know, 24 seven, if you know, not quite 24, seven. But, um, it’s.

Stone Payton: [00:22:17] Hard, though, to turn it off, even if you are in some, like, family time at the beach. On the boat. For me, anyway, I’m still sometimes thinking about that one client.

Speaker4: [00:22:27] Right. You are.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:22:28] You’re always. And all of a sudden something will pop up. And that’s. I mean, I pretty much always have a paper and a pen around, right? Um, just because something is always popping into my head and I’ve learned, just at least write it down because I’m sorry. At my 53, almost 54 year old brain, it doesn’t remember much anymore, at least very long. So I do have to write it down. And at least that way you can say, okay, I wrote it down, now I can remember, and now I can go back on to whatever I was doing. I can go back on to that watching that movie or back into, you know, that conversation or back to enjoying the beach or whatever I was doing. But I haven’t lost that thought and I haven’t, you know, um, given up that because you’re right, if you are in business for yourself, you’re always your brain is always going. And it has to you can’t turn it off. Really. Um, but it is also true that though there are times when you really do need to try your best to turn it off. Um, so.

Speaker4: [00:23:36] What, uh, give.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:23:37] Yourself a chance to refresh.

Stone Payton: [00:23:40] Yeah, you need that space, right? So I am interested to know, uh, most of of our listeners know that I like to hunt, fish and travel. Uh, how about you? I don’t know when you find the time, but it sounds like you do commit to finding the time. Uh, hobbies, interests that you pursue outside the scope of your work that allows you to create that little bit of space and refresh opportunity. What do you kind of nerd out about anything?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:24:02] Um, one of my favorite things to do, uh, we have we rescue collies. Um. Oh, my. We have three right now. Um, and they are, um, full, full collies. Um, so we have three big, huge, you know, 70 plus pound dogs in our house, but we love them. Um, they are truly our, our fur babies. And, um, but we love taking them out in the woods and walking with them. And that is, that is one of my biggest escapes, um, is to take them out and walk with them. Um, I would love to travel. Um. That was one of my husband’s and I favorite things to do was travel and just hop in the car and take road trips. Um, that’s been harder and harder now. Maybe as empty nesters, that’ll become easier again now that the kids are kind of flown the coop and gone. Um, but now with a business to run again, that’s harder, but, um.

Stone Payton: [00:25:05] Well, and you may find as you continue to, to grow, that you can delegate more and more of that.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:25:09] Well, that’s the hope too, is that as we’re, as I’m able to bring in young women, um, to the business, that they are able to take on some of those roles.

Speaker4: [00:25:21] There you go. Yeah.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:25:22] I would love to find somebody that has an aptitude for social media, for running a website or doing, you know, photography. And I was blessed last year to have somebody that did want to go into photography and did a photo shoot for me. Um, so those are the things that hopefully will be able to come about through this. Um, so those are the types of roles that hopefully be able to be taken on by the young women that were able to serve as those things will be able to, and that they can explore to say, okay, I like this. Um, and then have the chance to explore that and say, yeah, I really do like this, you know, what can I do with this? And then say, well, hey, you can do anything with learning, you know, social media and writing and doing, you know, ad writing. And, you know, you can do it as, as a career, as a job, as, you know.

Speaker4: [00:26:19] Oh, I like that. So yeah.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:26:21] You know.

Stone Payton: [00:26:22] Everybody will win from that. All right.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:26:23] I’m hoping so. Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:26:24] We’ll continue to follow this story okay. So the workshop I can go in right now this afternoon. Enjoy it as a patron. Yes. Uh, so so there’s that. But talk to me a little bit more about, uh, how someone like a Holly or an aunt Sandy. Sandy’s my sister in law. That does the quilting. Holly’s the one that’s, you know, neck deep in the arts and will be more so when we when we get her retired. Yep. Uh, how might somebody like Holly tap into to what you’re what you’re doing?

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:26:52] Um, there’s a there’s several different ways. Um, if if Holly if she wants, she retires. And if she has any inclination in teaching, I would love to have her or anybody else that wants to teach a class.

Speaker4: [00:27:08] Uh, if, um.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:27:11] I don’t want to be the one teaching classes, you know, all the time. Yeah. For instance, we have wine, wine, glass, painting. Um, if somebody has an aptitude to teach, um, painting, I would love to have them teach the classes. If somebody wants to teach sewing, if somebody wants to teach, you know, whatever gift that they have, if they want to teach those classes, they are, I would love to have them come in and teach. So that is an opportunity for people to come in and get involved. Um, you can shop online. We have the website, the workshop dot site s I t e you can shop us online so you can be a patron online. You don’t have to live here in Woodstock. Um, and.

Stone Payton: [00:27:53] Know that you’re not just supporting a local entrepreneur, which for me is enough. I mean, our whole mission around here is to support and celebrate local businesses. But you’re not just supporting a local entrepreneur, you’re actually helping folks in these organizations that you were describing. What was the the firm foot forward? Did I get that foot forward?

Speaker4: [00:28:11] Yes.

Stone Payton: [00:28:12] Yeah. I mean, you’re actually you’re helping them. You’re helping these these young ladies who are coming from some really tough circumstances and starting to to get their get their footing. And they don’t they all they, they just need a little a little a little little help. Right. A little.

Speaker4: [00:28:27] Help. Little help. Yep.

Stone Payton: [00:28:28] Wow, man, what marvelous work you’re doing.

Speaker4: [00:28:31] Thank you.

Stone Payton: [00:28:32] I am so glad you came in to visit.

Speaker4: [00:28:34] Me, too.

Stone Payton: [00:28:35] And I hope you’ll keep it up. I have every confidence that you will. And the other thing I’d love to do, if you’re up for it, I think it might be fun to do, like a a special episode with you. Maybe some of the folks who are creating this art, maybe some of the the folks who are benefiting from the program and just dive into how you’re working together and how everybody really is, uh, benefiting from this collaborative effort. I think that would be a fun set of stories to to share.

Speaker4: [00:29:01] Yeah, I would love to. Yes.

Stone Payton: [00:29:03] All right, so before we wrap, let’s make sure that we have appropriate points of contact. Make it easy for folks to talk to you, get to the workshop, tap into these organizations. So whatever you’re comfortable with let’s leave them with some coordinates. Okay.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:29:16] Um, again, the workshop physically, um, is located on highway 92 9539, uh, highway 92, in Woodstock, just before 575, right behind, um, the Starbucks, right across from the goodwill. Um, our website is the workshop. Dot site site. You can email me at info at the workshop dot site.

Stone Payton: [00:29:45] Fantastic. Well, Kimberly, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio this morning. I’m quite sincere about us getting back together and doing some version of this again before too long, but keep up the good work. What you’re doing is having such an impact, probably beyond even you what you recognize. But it’s important work and we we sure appreciate you.

Kimberly Mauriello: [00:30:09] Thank you. Stone, I’m glad I came in.

Stone Payton: [00:30:11] My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Kimberly Mauriello with the workshop and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.