Here at the Beaches Town Center we love spotlighting the wonderful local businesses that make up this community. This week, our spotlight is on Kyds Children's Boutique.
How did your business start?
Kyds Boutique initially began over 20 years ago by the extraordinary Emilie Christenson (owner of Jaffi’s). Melody and I had the privilege of taking ownership of Kyds— becoming the “Kyds Mommies” in 2016. Owning a business together was always a dream of ours. We are identical twins, yet have different strengths and insight, so we wanted a business where we could utilize our unique qualities effectively. It was perfect timing when Emilie decided to pass the torch — we took it as an honor to keep the Kyds light shining bright in our community. At the time, Rachel’s sons, Carson & Gavin, were 1.5 and 3 years old, so it seemed even more fitting to have a business that would allow the involvement of her children. Gavin and Carson are now 7 & 9 and still help as a sounding board when selecting the best products and new merchandise for Kyds.
What did you two do before owning Kyds? Before owning Kyds, we both had careers as tennis professionals. This career path led us to Florida from Texas, our home state. While running a small tennis academy, we trained high performance juniors and taught players of all ages and skill levels. This included traveling the world as coaches, while also competing in professional events. Additionally, we were (and are) both heavily involved in philanthropic endeavors, which we find extremely rewarding. Currently, in addition to owning Kyds, Melody Joy Snelen, is a local licensed real estate agent with The Legends of Real Estate.
What are the most popular products at your store? Kyds is well stocked with the most adorable, sought after trendy and traditional goodies! Clothing, gifts, accessories, shoes, toys, etc. Beachwear is certainly high demand and popular given our location near the beach in sunny, warm Florida! We appeal to a broad assortment of needs — beach days, birthday parties, baby showers, family photos, vacations, and everyday essentials. We even offer special products for moms and grown ups— Most notably are our lifeguard and trucker hats, Bogg bags, jewelry, and Riddle Oil (all natural fragrance line).
What are some things to look forward to from Kyds?
At Kyds we’re always looking to keep things fresh and current! We also like to stay true to reliable, and traditional, products our customers depend on. We love to follow new fashions and trends. We also welcome insight and feedback from our local customer base as to what people are most interested in. We’d like to continue sourcing products that are known for quality and offer eco friendly options.
We strive to provide a broad variety of options for every occasion and need in your child's active life. From intriguing toys, special gifts, fashionable accessories — to fun, comfortable clothing for everyday wear, parties, holidays, pool/beach days, outerwear, special events, etc. It’s always a tall order, but we embrace every challenge related to business ownership. We appreciate all our amazing, and loyal, local customers, as well as those who seek out Kyds as a destination shop. We are so grateful for our community and love the beautiful people that make our area so vibrant and exceptional!
We enthusiastically look forward to seeing you at Kyds!
- Rachel Crismond & Melody Snelen
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