business spotlight Businesses East Tennessee’s Business Women | East Tennessee’s Business Women |
| Written by EW Staff | |||||
| Monday, 30 June 2008 | |||||
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How did this lead to a gallery? People started sending emails saying they'd come to Sweetwater looking for her gallery. Deciding it was time to open one, she and her husband Steve found vacant space in the second floor of an 1876 building in Historic Downtown Sweetwater. Susan drafted her business plan overnight. She says, "When I had worked with galleries, I had thought about what I would do. I think it was in my head and I knew how I wanted it to be." Morris Galleries opened two-and-a-half-years ago. Now the owners of the building, they're now remodeling the first floor so that by late summer or early fall, Morris Galleries will occupy both floors. Susan enjoys working with her 100 plus artists. She says, "I feel like I'm fortunate that I can look at it from both sides. I know how hard they work and I think I have a connection with them." Susan handles most of the day-to-day details of the gallery but her husband Steve takes care of the accounting. She says she's often asked why she thought her gallery would be a success in small town Sweetwater. Susan explains, and this may be one of the keys to success, "I never considered that I couldn't do it."
Susan Morris, owner of Morris Galleries, located at 111 N. Main in Historic Downtown Sweetwater.
"Where I grew up in California there were boutiques in China Town near my home that sold clothing from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. I have always loved these styles because they are unique, cute and very feminine," said Uyen. "For as long as I can remember I dreamed of one day owning my own boutique and selling those same lines of clothes-but at affordable prices. It was an obsession of mine and I talked about it all the time. After visiting my sister-in-law in Knoxville, my husband and I decided to move here. I knew it would the perfect place to make my dreams come true." While her dreams may be coming true now, the road here wasn't always easy. Uyen is very close to her parents and leaving them behind in California was very hard on her and them. Yet, they were supportive of their daughter's dreams and helped her achieve them. "It took us a year to convince my parents that I was serious about moving and opening the boutique. But within that year, my husband and I cut down on our spending in order to save for the boutique. He worked overtime and I asked for more hours at my place of employment. We lived with my parents and that really helped us to save for the move to Knoxville and the boutique." While Uyen is one of the newest women to go into business in Knoxville, she takes her mothering very serious. Wherever she goes, her three-year-old daughter is not far behind. "She's my little manager. Don't be surprised when she runs up to you and hands you a business card and asks you if you want a piece of candy," said Uyen. "I don't know where she got that from, it's just her habit!" There is no doubt, Uyen's daughter will probably be a future woman in business!
Uyen Dang, owner of The Cherry Blossom, located at 5201 Kingston Pike in Knoxville in the Village Square.
"We try to use small businesses, being that we are one," Redmond said. "We'd rather go to a smaller business rather than a big box store." Redmond and her husband, Zac, created Exact Tile in 1999. She says the business world has been accepting and welcoming to her family since they moved to Knoxville about 10 years ago. "I love my job and working with the community," she said. "I feel like Knoxville has good community support and that's one of the best things about living here." Zac and Marni Redmond have three children: 10-year-old Noah, 5-year-old Bailey, and 19-month-old Gracie. She says she would like to see Exact Tile expand its showroom, which showcases the different materials and designs the business can provide its customers, but has no plans to add another store location to the business. "I'm happy with the size we are now," Redmond said. "We would like to have a bigger showroom where people can come in and have a design center. We work pretty closely with the top designers here in Knoxville, and we like to cater to them. But we won't open another store because we like being a small business. We like to concentrate on our customers."
Marni Redmond, owner of Exact Tile, located at 108 Hayfield Road, Suite A in Knoxville.
Ashley comes from a performing arts background. She has had years of dance training throughout her life and was a professional actress for many years. Ashley has a unique ability to combine her communication skills and intuitive body awareness into her teaching style. Using a holistic approach to fitness, Mind Body Kinetics' desire is to help you achieve a balanced body using proven methods that not only develop you physically, but rejuvenate you mentally. Ashley's husband, Kenny Baker, is the co-owner of Mind Body Kinetics. Since the birth of their children the two have found that changes had to be made in their schedules, as well as sacrifices in their personal time. "What I do sacrifice is my house," said Ashley. "It's not perfectly clean. I don't want to come home from work after my kids have been in preschool and start cleaning my house. I want to play with my kids." Ashley is a very busy wife, mom and business owner. In addition to Pilates and GYROTONICS, Mind Body Kinetics also offers yoga, private sessions, semi-privates sessions, sports-specific training, post-rehabilitation sessions and massage therapy. Yet, if anyone can keep up the busy pace, it's Ashley. She's a pro at both mental and physical rejuvenation!
Ashley Guthrie Baker, co-owner of Mind Body Kinetics, located at 4928 Homberg Drive, Suite A1 in Knoxville.
Farragut Wine and Spirits opened last fall, and with 7,000 square feet of retail space, they are the second largest wine store in the state by square footage. Running her own business is old hat for Robin. She operated several businesses out of her home before starting the long process of opening the store. "It's been a lot of work," she says. "I've learned a lot about how politics work in this business." But it's also been fun. The store is community-oriented, offering wine tastings and participating in charity work. Robin enjoys putting together the store's monthly newsletter, which contains information about special events, recipes and wine facts. The newsletter is sent to customers via e-mail, or can be picked up at the store. Family and friends have been supportive of the new venture. The Purvis's daughter, Julia, who attends Clemson, is working at the store this summer. Friends have passed the word to their friends, who have become loyal customers. "Even owners of other wine stores have offered helpful advice," says Robin. For those who would like to learn more about wine, Robin recommends attending a wine tasting. There is still availability for an event at Flemings on July 27 and 28. A multiple-course meal will be served with several different high-end wines, and speakers will discuss the pairing of food with wine. The cost is $65. "You get to meet other people who like wine," says Robin. "It's a great way to make new friends."
Robin Purvis, owner of Farragut Wine & Spirits, located at 11238 Kingston Pike in Farragut.           
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The Morris Galleries in Sweetwater grew from Susan Morris' own art. An R.N. who enjoyed crafts, she honed her skills and juried into the prestigious Southern Highland Craft Guild in Asheville, North Carolina. After that, her art was shown in galleries in both Asheville and Knoxville. She twice sold her art from her house and created a website to show her work.
Knoxville's newest boutique, The Cherry Blossom, is owned by Uyen Dang. The boutique is an exciting place for female shoppers who are always looking for feminine, original clothing sizes extra small to large, as well as accessories from Asia. Uyen is very excited about her new boutique and is seeing a dream she had since she was a girl come to fruition.
As a small business owner, Marni Redmond depends on word of mouth and a good reputation to get the word out about Exact Tile, the business she runs with her husband. Because of that, she returns the favor to other small business owners in Knoxville by frequenting their stores as well.
Ashley Baker is the co-owner of Mind Body Kinetics, Knoxville's premier mind/body fitness and yoga studio. Ashley has been a certified Pilates instructor since 1999. She began teaching Pilates mat classes, and then became trained in Pilates equipment the following year. In 2001, she began her training in the GYROTONIC Expansion System, further expanding her knowledgebase as a teacher.
Both Robin Purvis and her husband, David, have had a passion for wine "forever." They are wine collectors, and enjoy attending Wine Spectator seminars all over the country. They had always wanted to get into the wine business, and planned to wait until both of their children were out of college-but they didn't.
