Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Happy Anniversary to SOL.

On a bright fall day in October, 1997, my sister Jeanie and I held hands and stood in front of 248 Detroit Street. We looked up at the freshly installed moniker on the building. We looked at each other.  I squeezed her hand. "This is it, sister," I said. "This is it, sister" she answered. 

After weeks of preparation of the space, after months of planning over coffee, margaritas and countless cartons of Chinese food, after years and years of dreaming. This was it.

We turned the key and SOL Store of Lingerie was officially open. Wouldn't it be fun to say there was a line of people waiting with us like on a Sidewalk Sale day? It would, but it wouldn't be true. That first day, we had a total of four customers. Four. I could tell you everything about each of them. And we're very proud to say we still see two of them quite often. Thank you Nancy Mitzner and Patty Soffer! As our longest standing customers, you are the original SOL Girls.

Opening Day with our one employee. Seems like yesterday.
That first year, if you wanted a Daisy bra, you could choose Navy...or Navy. We sold 150 of them. We've had 14 fashion colors since then - and in the first nine months of this year alone, more than 3500 have made their way from our fitting rooms to your wardrobes. 

We've had amazing trips to Las Vegas, New York, Paris. (Oh, Paris.) We've had the thrill of seeing our first billboard go up, our first ad in a magazine, our first invitation to be on the Today Show. We've met so many absolutely lovely women in Denver and around the world.

Building the plan for SOL was a lot like getting ready to have a baby. You hope, you plan, you dream. You build a nest and you wait. Finally the day comes, and you step into a new and exciting set of adventures. There's no looking back. Your baby enters the world with all your wishes and work supporting it. 

SOL is older than my daughter, older than Jeanie's daughter. It is our first child, and we're so happy that's it's a thriving teen now because of hard work and a true and honest love of what we do. Because of the dedication of loyal SOL employees. And of course, because of your support.

Earlier this month we posted a note on Facebook. It said "Happy Anniversary to SOL, it's been 14 years since we opened the door to our dream." And that is exactly true. 



Happy anniversary to SOL. Thank you, sister.

xoxo,
Cindy