Job: Clothing store owner, Woodstock

KARL W. RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

Carolyn Gordon has put her fashion sense and background in retail and personal shopping to good use at Moops, her clothing store in Woodstock.

What I do: The first thing people ask Carolyn Y. Gordon is where she got the name for her clothing store, Moops, in downtown Woodstock.

"Moop was my nickname when I was a baby, because I used to cry and whine a lot," said Gordon, 45. "I just put the 's' on the end. It sounds very whimsical."

Moops carries women's clothes in vintage and "shabby chic" styles, Gordon said, as well as jewelry and accessories. She said it's meant to appeal to women ages 25 to 55 — "the ones that have the money," she said — in sizes extra-small to 12 and sometimes a little larger.

The vintage look, she explained, can fit all ages and sizes. "You can be 100 and still want to look chic," she said.

That's her goal: to make her customers happy.

In addition to the store, Gordon also runs a personal-shopping business; clients primarily are in the television and entertainment industries.

As a personal shopper, she searches stores — usually high-end retailers — for clothing that meets the client's needs and desires, and she goes with the client to make the final selections.

She explained that the television industry often has guidelines for the colors and styles of clothing worn by the "talent," as on-air people are called. The employer usually provides a clothing allowance, and the talent buys and keeps the clothes.

What got me interested in this: "I love to mix and match colors and fabrics," Gordon said. "It's a gift."

She also wanted to make a better life for herself after a childhood spent in foster care and abusive situations in Queens, N.Y. She began by earning a degree in fashion merchandising, then working in sales and management in stores such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom in the New York City suburbs, Beverly Hills, Calif., and Atlanta.

"I worked in retail for 27 years," she said. "You have to love it."

The personal-shopping career began with the retailers before she branched out on her own more than nine years ago.

Opening a store of her own "was the next thing I had to do," Gordon said.

Throughout her career, "I've managed to make it work," she said. "You have to drive your business. Because of that, I've succeeded."

Best part of my job: "Being able to meet so many people every day and put a smile on their faces," she said. "At the end of every shopping spree, I love it when they're smiling. I've accomplished my mission."

Most challenging part: At her store, Gordon said the challenge is getting the right vendors and the right merchandise.

Her store is also one of the first tenants in a building that's part of a new live-work-play community still under construction across the railroad tracks from Woodstock's Main Street.

What people don't know about my job: "Most people think my job is glamorous and just picking out clothes," Gordon said.

"It's all about creating an image for people, working with them and making them look fabulous."

In both her store and personal-shopping service, "it's all about customer service. Without customer service, you don't have a business."

What keeps me going: "God and my husband," Gordon said.

In addition to two part-time employees, Gordon recruits help from her husband, Anthony Lawrence, an optician.

Looking back on her early years, she said, "you can overcome any obstacle. Dreams can come true."

Preparation needed for this job: Experience in retail. A degree isn't necessary, Gordon said, but to run a store or be a personal shopper, you need to know the merchandise and how to manage an operation.

A store owner also must know the competition, choose the right location, have his or her credit in order, and have a "really tight" business plan and plenty of money to get it started.

Gordon said she started saving "every penny" two years ago, completed the rest of the steps about a year ago and opened her store about a month ago.

Gordon has an associate's degree in fashion merchandising from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and has worked in major department stores and as a personal shopper since graduation.

She also was an actress in California, with small parts in commercials and television programs, including "A Different World" and "L.A. Law."

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.