Community Highlights: Meet Sandi Mele of The Style Shop by Sandi Mele

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandi Mele.

Hi Sandi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Back in college, I worked part-time in retail as a sales associate and met a personal shopper one day. I had never heard of personal shopping before and was intrigued by the idea! I decided to pursue a certification in Image Consulting through a local community college and finished the program two years later.

I had the great privilege of studying under Reachel Bagley with The Cardigan Empire and extended my internship to enjoy more time with her! Soon after completing the certification, I moved to Denver with my new husband and began the search for work as a personal stylist. I was hired by a start-up and worked as a virtual consultant for two years before branching out on my own.

In the spring of 2016, The Style Shop was born, and in the fall of 2017, I went full-time in my styling business! I narrowed my niche to working just with women and narrowed it even further to helping women design elevated capsule wardrobes.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It took time to build my business, and I wasn’t able to work full-time as a stylist right away.

I was patient, though, and took several business and styling courses along the way, namely B-School by Marie Forleo and Stylist School Online by Michelle McFarlane. In the fall of 2018, I launched my own online styling course, Simplified Style, which required many hours of disciplined effort and a willingness to put myself out there, which felt really scary.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The heart of The Style Shop is to help women understand how they are telling a story with the clothing they wear.

With every client, the goal is to capture the essence of who the client is as a woman and create the freedom to truly enjoy being herself. One of the things that set The Style Shop apart is a focus on capsule wardrobes or strategically designed collections of clothing that coordinate together in a variety of ways. For example, a wardrobe of 28 pieces may create 100 outfits or more! The Style Shop provides a mini virtual class on how to create a capsule wardrobe for those who love the DIY approach, but for the busy woman whose plate is full with other things, working one-on-one with The Style Shop is a way to delegate this important part of her life to a style expert.

One thing I’m proud of is the heart-level approach The Style Shop takes to a person’s wardrobe. It’s about so much more than finding nice clothes. It’s about representing a person authentically, creating confidence to pursue everything she cares about wholeheartedly, and freeing her up to serve others genuinely with a mind that isn’t distracted by self-conscious worry or concern that she isn’t dressed for the job.

I absolutely love working with other young moms, though I have the privilege of serving women in every stage and season of life. The Style Shop has a process that walks a client through the exact steps of identifying what story she wants to tell with the clothing she wears, and after 10 years of styling and over 50 5-star reviews, I can confidently say it’s a process that works.

Networking and finding a mentor can have a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I’ve leaned heavily on mentors throughout my career, whether it’s through online courses or one-on-one mentoring with other local stylists. Get familiar with the successful people in your industry and don’t be afraid to ask if they’d be willing to meet with you!

Pricing:

• How to Create a Fun and Vibrant Capsule Wardrobe” online training – $99 (enter your email at the bottom of www.sandimele.com to find a special discount for this course!
• “Simplified Style” online style course – $297 (https://www.sandimele.com/the-course-virtual-personal-image-consulting-and-wardrobe-services)
• One-on-one styling packages – pricing varies (https://www.sandimele.com/services-denver-personal-stylist-and-wardrobe-consultant)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sandimele.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestyleshopbysandi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestyleshopbysandi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SandiMele
• Other: Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/thestyleshopbysm/

Image Credits
Haley Jean Marie with Genesis Creative