EP #41 Inside Whitby’s: A Downtown Gem

What happens when an art teacher with a decade of classroom experience follows her hidden dream? Meet Lindsey Marine, the creative force behind Whitby's, a charming home decor and lifestyle goods shop nestled in downtown Fredericksburg.

Lindsey's journey from educator to entrepreneur unfolds as she shares how leaving a beloved teaching career shortly after COVID led her to fulfill a long-held aspiration. Named after her grandmother, Whitby's occupies an intimate 800-square-foot space that feels more like a welcoming home than a retail store. This "hidden gem" has become a destination for those seeking thoughtfully curated home goods with staying power and story.

The conversation explores Lindsey's philosophy on product selection, emphasizing her commitment to sourcing unique items that won't end up at Goodwill after the trend fades. She takes special pride in supporting independent makers from Richmond to Portland, Maine, fostering connections with artists whose work resonates with her aesthetic vision. One particularly meaningful relationship began when Lindsey, as a customer, discovered a handbag maker at a Nashville flea market in 2018, only to later feature their creations in her own store.

Beyond business insights, Lindsey opens up about her personal life, including recent travels to Scandinavia and an exciting new project—purchasing and renovating her grandparents' home. Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs emphasizes community support, flexibility, and the courage to begin without having all the answers. As former students visit the shop (still calling her by her previous last name), Lindsey's story serves as inspiration that career pivots can lead to fulfilling new chapters.

Discover Whitby's at 703 Caroline Street in downtown Fredericksburg—look for the charming white house with black awnings across from the old visitor center. Stop by to experience Lindsey's curated collection and see firsthand how staying curious can transform a dream into reality.

Lindsey Marine

Whitby’s

[phone]

[e-mail]

703 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA, United States, Virginia

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
, the place where localbusinesses and neighbors come
together.
Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to another episode of the
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of
our favorite local brands.
I'm really excited to introduceyou to my guest today.
Lindsey Marine of Whitby's isjoining us.
Lindsey, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hi, thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, I'm excited to get to know you and learn more
about your business.
So let's start there.
Share with us a little bitabout Whitby's.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah, so Whitby's is a home decor houseware.
Yeah, so Whitby's is a homedecor houseware, lifestyle goods
store.
We're a cute little shopdowntown Fredericksburg, 800
square feet, it feels just likea little home and we just sell,
I feel like, a very eclectic,wide range of goods for your
home.
People can find good littlegifts here, that kind of thing.

(01:03):
Um, but yeah, and it was namedafter my grandmother, so oh, I
love that.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
I love that and what a great addition to the downtown
fredericksburg scene.
So I love that, thank you thankyou so much.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
It's been fun being down here.
We're about a year and a halfinto business, so I like to
think we're like a little hiddengem yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Well, congratulations .
A year and a half, that's a bigdeal, thank you so much.
So tell us about yourbackground.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
How did you get into this?
I had always had a dream ofopening a store and I luckily
fell into it.
However, I was an art teacherfor about a decade before this.
I was all over Chesterfield,richmond City, and then back
here, which is where I'm from,and, yeah, I left teaching after

(01:56):
, you know, shortly after COVID,and you know had a few career
changes and then this fell intomy lap and it had always been a
dream.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
So we've been figuring out as we go and
unfolding, so I love that, andso your, your art brain, your
creativity is fulfilled daily, Iimagine.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yes, I always have so many creative projects.
The to-do list for creativitykeeps building so many ideas.
So, yeah, that's one of thegood things that I really,
really love about owningWhitby's is endless creativity.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, yeah.
So much fun, so much fun, okay,so I know that it's not always
so much fun.
So share with us a hardship ora challenge that you have
overcome and now you feel likeyou're better for it.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, I feel like when I left teaching, you know
when I feel like when I wentinto that career, I always
imagined that that's what Iwould be doing.
You know, my whole life and Ithink having the courage to
leave something that you lovedso much love my students, still

(03:13):
in contact with a lot of themand to dive into other things,
and I feel like each step alongthe way has led me to the next
thing.
So, yeah, I just I think thatjust taking that leap, that one

(03:33):
time has made me feel like, okay, I can do that now all the time
and, yeah, it's just kind ofgiven me that push, that nudge.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, what a great role model you are for your
students to see that you took abig leap of faith and you
followed your dreams.
And look at you now, so I thinkthat's really cool.
I imagine that they are havingfun following your journey.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Yeah, it's been really fun.
So when I had taught middleschool, those students gosh a
lot of them are graduatedcollege, now everything and some
of them have come in and seenme still call me by my old last
name, and so just to see thatyou know you can change career
paths.
You don't have to stay whereyou are, Even if you are happy

(04:20):
and it's not the right fit, youknow.
Just stay curious, I guess.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Very cool, very cool.
I love that.
I love that.
Okay, so clearly, when you arestarting a new business, and
especially retail business, youare working very hard and, I
imagine, long hours.
So tell us, when you do get abreak, what are you doing for
fun?

Speaker 3 (04:44):
I mean, I love art.
That is my background, so noton it as much as I used to be,
not creating as much as I usedto be personally, but I do love
that.
My husband and I love to travelwhen we can.
We just got back from a trip toCopenhagen and Norway, so that

(05:04):
was so much fun.
And our next venture is we arebuying my grandma grandparents
house, so that's likerenovations are going to be
happening coming and so now Iget to design a home how I
really want to, so that's goingto be a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
That's.
That's exciting.
I love that You'll have todocument your journey so I can
follow you.
I would like to do that.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, yeah, add it to the creative checklist that we
have going.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Right.
So starting a new business isscary and it's hard and some
people are so intimidated.
And what advice would you givesomeone who is thinking about
taking that leap and starting abusiness?

Speaker 3 (05:54):
I think the biggest thing that helped me was leaning
on other friends business ownerfriends that I had just
happened to meet along the way.
They were a tremendous help.
And I think the biggest thingtoo is for me just knowing that
I don't have to have all theanswers right when I start.

(06:15):
I think you know I'm also avery tight B person, so I think
you know, sometimes if you haveit all planned out right away,
that's great.
But being flexible, being fluidkind of, in how you run things,
sometimes I feel like it'salways like pivoting, you know,
staying true to like who you are, your business, your mission,

(06:37):
your goal, what you want tobring to people, but also being
willing to stretch yourself alittle bit.
But always lean on the peoplearound you too.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely.
That's such great advice.
The businesses that havelongevity are the ones that know
when to pivot and are okay withbeing flexible and changing.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
So yeah, yeah, thank you.
I appreciate that.
I've very much learned that Icannot do everything that my
like myself.
So, yeah, leaning on everyone.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
So what is something that you wish the listeners knew
about?
Whitby's?

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Oh, so many things.
I take a lot of pride and carein the products that I bring
into my store.
I try to find things that areunique but not so unique that
maybe two years from now you'relike why did I buy that, you
know, and you just take it togoodwill.
I try to find things that Isource vintage rugs.

(07:41):
I try to find things that havetexture, story layers, but then
also things that are pops of fun.
I really really love to supportother makers.
I have businesses out ofRichmond Crescent, simples,
naked Goat, independent artistsall the way up to, like,
portland Maine, from everywhere.

(08:03):
So it takes a lot of time tosearch, curate because we have a
very small space.
Yeah, and my location, mylocation is like in an old 1800s
house and it from the frontit's so cute and it looks
amazing, but a lot of peoplethink it's a home.
So yeah.
So that's.
That's been something that youknow we're working on and

(08:27):
figuring out how to get morepeople in.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
So yeah, how fun, though, to get to source all
these cool things, and and thenyou are also so important in
other people's journeys as well,because you're bringing them
into your store and introducingthem to the Fredericksburg
market.
How cool is that.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
I know it's my favorite thing and, honestly,
like Instagram is such a tooltoo.
Back in 2018, I stumbled onsomething a flea market fair in
Nashville in Tennessee, and I'dbeen following closely one of
the vendors and have alwaysdreamed about, you know, owning

(09:09):
something of hers.
And then now, as a store owner,I had reached out to her and we
just brought in backhet and shemakes bags like really, really
cute handbags.
It's like a baguette, butbetter.
That's her thing.
But supporting other makers isreally the best part about the
job.

Speaker 2 (09:30):
So yeah, that's amazing.
So if the listeners want tocome check you out, um, share
with us your address and howthey can find you yeah, so we
are at 703 caroline street.

Speaker 3 (09:42):
we are across from the old visitor center next to
osan and it's a cute littlewhite house, black awnings and
um, it's just a really, reallycozy space to come visit and
just come in and say hi, we'dlove to meet you, awesome.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
Lindsey, thank you so much for joining me on the
podcast and sharing Whitby'swith us.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg
Neighbors Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tofxbgneighborspodcast.
com.
That's fxbgneighborspodcast.
com, or call 540-534-4618.