The Retail Whore

Linnaea is the passionate owner of a beloved Santa Cruz institution that has evolved into a creative hub for American-made art, design, and feel-good goods. She first joined the store as a 16-year-old seasonal hire in 1993 and, 16 years later, celebrated her anniversary by buying the business. Since then, Linnaea has honored its legacy while transforming it into Artisans & Agency, a space that champions craftsmanship, community...

Andrea Hoffer is an experienced Talent Acquisition & Management strategist and entrepreneur, passionate about building exceptional teams. As the founder of aha! Talent Experts, she has helped businesses across the country improve recruitment processes, align hiring with company culture, and develop employer brands that attract top talent.

With over 30 years of experience in recruitment and nearly two decades as a successful busi...

Bob Negen is a retail powerhouse, co-founder of WhizBang! Retail Training, and creator of Retail Brilliance, a cutting-edge educational platform for independent retailers. With a storied past as a kite shop owner and over two decades helping retailers master everything from sales to strategy, Bob joins Michelle for a deep, honest, and inspiring conversation.

From weathering tariff chaos to elevating team sales performance, this epis...

Susan and Michelle are back with another action-packed episode of Shelf Talk! In this conversation, they kick things off with a quick catch-up and get into what it’s like working alongside their husbands, including a juicy business conversation about a car wash.

They dive into plans to collaborate with sponsors and grow the community, what’s in store for the upcoming show season, and the impact of tariffs. Susan and Miche...

Steven Henke is the Chief of Brand Marketing at DAP Health.
DAP Health is an advocacy-based community health center in Palm Springs, CA, serving over 88,000 patients. It provides comprehensive medical and mental healthcare, STI testing and treatment, dentistry, pharmacy, and lab services. A wide array of wraparound services enables patients to experience optimal health—these include social services, support groups, alternative...

Sara Vaskov has been in the San Luis Obispo retail scene for over two decades. She began working at Hands Gallery 22 years ago and became the owner in 2016, leading the shop through years of growth and evolution. Beyond running a thriving small business, Sara is deeply involved in community advocacy. As a board member of the Downtown SLO Association, she played a key role in lowering parking costs through her work on the Parking an...

Misty Stachel is the founder and owner of 85 Local, a carefully curated boutique that blends locally made goods with unique, high-quality finds from beyond Arizona. With a passion for retail and community, Misty has created a shopping destination where customers can discover one-of-a-kind gifts, stylish apparel, and must-have home accessories—all while supporting small businesses.

At 85 Local, Misty focuses on thoughtful c...

Emma Lewis is the owner of Rare Form and The Twentieth, both based in Chicago. Emma works to digitally restore and reinterpret 100-year-old designs to create unique greeting cards, stationery, and more. Through her work, her goal is to empower and affirm others with a brand that combines vintage images with unapologetic contemporary feminist language and over-the-top messages of affirmation.

The Twentieth is a stationery, ...

Susan and Michelle join forces again for another episode of Shelf Talk! Here, they kick things off with a recap of Susan’s recent trip to New Orleans and all the fun shops she explored while there. Next, they share some of their favorite displays found on Instagram and discuss their stand-out design elements and features. 

Susan and Michelle also discuss how you can recreate these displays in your own store, plans for booking upcomi...

Gloria Chou is an award-winning PR strategist and host of the top-rated Small Business PR Podcast. Known for her untraditional yet proven approach to PR which makes visibility and access to media accessible for anyone, Gloria helps BIPOC and female founders get featured organically in top-tier media without needing PR connections or a large following. experience through her signature CPR Pitching Method. 

Gloria’s strategi...

Marrin Costello is an American businesswoman, designer, and brand architect. Her career as a creative began at age seven, after receiving a bead kit for Christmas. Selling her creations at local San Francisco Bay Area craft fairs and local boutique retailers while in grammar school, Costello's love for both business and fashion was realized at a very young age.

Less than a decade later, a childhood hobby has transform...

Caroline Weaver is an obsessive shopper, former specialty shop owner, and creator of The Locavore Guide. During her years as a shopkeeper, she yearned for a resource to help others understand what it actually means to "shop small" and to share information about why it’s better for everyone. 

In a world of algorithms and convenience, most of us have lost touch with the ways in which shopping acts as a gateway for ...

Andrew Fegler is the brains and beauty behind That’s So Andrew, the sassy gift brand for the girls, gays, and theys. He’s been sailing the entrepreneurial seas for over a decade and has gone from manufacturing to having a brick & mortar to creating an exclusive wholesale brand. Now, he’s full-circling back to open the doors of a pop-up gift shop!

In this conversation, Andrew brings us up to speed on an eventful, busy s...

Welcome to Shelf Talk: a brand new, add-on segment inside the Retail Whore Podcast! 

In this new once-a-month segment, Michelle and co-host Susan Esayian dive into all things merchandising and design. Both Michelle and Susan have strong backgrounds as buyers and merchandisers in retail and wholesale gifts. On Shelf Talk, you’ll have the chance to submit your burning merchandising questions and get answers straight from the...

Dan Jablons heads up Retail Smart Guys, a premier consulting company for independent retail. Dan studied at the Ohio State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Production. Throughout his career, he’s worked with big-name retailers like Walmart, Target, JC Penney, American Apparel, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, Jimmy Choo, and many others.

Dan also worked for a clothing manufacturer where he pilot...

Mary Bligh and Jessica Giancotti are lifelong friends and passionate designers with over 20 years of combined experience. Together, they founded Lily & Marigold Home + Design on a shared belief: women can thrive in their careers, embrace motherhood, and create beautiful, functional spaces that truly feel like home.

Mary and Jessica believe a beautiful home should be accessible to everyone. Their first brick-and-mortar...

Liz Ferreira’s mom Beth started floral and gift shop Sweetbay out of her home when her two children were small. Over the years, her business has taken her to several brick-and-mortar shops, retail cooperatives and studio design. Her creative vision is the backbone of Sweetbay, as her merchandising inspires clients and shoppers across the Massachusetts north shore.

Liz joined forces with her mom after the birth of her secon...

Ronald Carter likes to think of creative styling as an art form: a masterpiece, carefully crafted by imagination and passion. He fell into his career by accident as a struggling actor in need of a side hustle. Ronald was living in Seattle at the time and recalls asking a friend if she knew of anyone who was hiring, and she kindly suggested checking out Eddie Bauer. From there, his retail career took off. 

At Eddie Bauer, R...

Many of you were interested in hearing about how the CMA job came to be, my planning process, and how everything turned out. This week, I’m recapping it all here on the podcast! Starting from the beginning, I talk about how Emily Hoffman (VP of Sales for CMA) reached out to me for some rework projects, then get into the challenges we faced, all the unique design elements, and how it ultimately came together.

If you want to...