Women’s History Month Spotlight: Cadeau – Sara

What inspired you to start your business, and what was your journey like?

Okay. So, our business opened in August of twenty twenty one, and it came on the heels of the closure of a business that I had been working for for thirteen years called Portobello Road. And so I had gathered all of this institutional knowledge from this job at Portobello Road, and it was time for that store to close. And I thought, well, I’m gonna have to keep going because I loved the work and I love this industry.

And so that was twenty twenty one. I started my adult life as a waitress and an artist, and so it’s always been in the service and creative industry. I worked in a gallery. I worked in a museum. I worked at a restaurant a long time, and then I got recruited to work in retail, which was kind of unexpected, but I stayed there for about 13 years and became a manager, a co-buyer, and a book keeper. So I learned the ropes of starting a small business, and that’s what got me here.

What sets your business apart from others in your field?

So this Cadeau is committed to carrying products that are, first and foremost, mission driven. So everything that we carry in our store has a story behind it, a soulful one. And so that can either mean that the product is made, with sustainable practices or by a small family run company, minority owned business. I’m constantly looking for meaningful makers out there. And so I’m doing that legwork. So when you purchase something from our store, you can always feel good that it’s come going back to another community in a really good way. I think, you know, I’m biased, but I like our style. I think our products are joyful. I think they’re colorful, and they visually tell an interesting story.

I don’t wanna say that I set myself apart per se from our other female run businesses in the retail business because what’s important here is that we try and stand together. I can tell you tonight, I’m going out to dinner with not a family, but a friend who also owns a business out in Wellesley. And, you know, we share tips in the trade, and I think it’s really important that we stick together as opposed to trying to set ourselves different from one another. And, that old phrase, you know, all boats rise with the tide. So that’s my take on it.

How do you see women shaping the future of your industry?

So because I’ve been in this industry that has been women it has been dominated by women. I told you a little anecdote earlier about, you know, when I go to the trade shows, the bathroom line to the women’s restroom is super long and the men’s line is tiny. We’re already there. You know? We’re already making some big impacts. I think that if we continue this way, we’re gonna just keep getting better and better. So I think the leadership’s already in place, and I think that’s part of the reason why I enjoy it so much.

Are there any women who have inspired you?

Well, yes. We’d be here a long time if I told you all the women who’ve inspired me. But if we wanna stick to my career only, I have worked for three sets of women, over the past two decades. And that it was in the restaurant industry, that was in the gallery world, and then in this, women’s retail world. And so I’m gonna just stick to my last two bosses who are still close friends of mine, Marina Kalb and Kristina Lyons. They taught me everything that I know in this industry and are really responsible for getting me here.