Meet Erinn Camille | Boutique Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erinn Camille and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erinn, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I came up with the idea of my online boutique “Leopardess” because it has always been a dream of mine to own my very own boutique. Since a child I always loved shopping and would wear leopard print at any chance I could get. By the time I entered high school I was known for constantly wearing leopard print. Yeah, some of my peers would make fun of me for wearing it so much but leopard print always gave me confidence when wearing it. As I started becoming serious with starting my business I wanted my brand to standout from the rest. I looked in my closet and pulled out all of my favorite pieces and all of them were of the leopard print. I then began to do my research on the popularity leopard print has always had and began to find images of women as far back as the 20s wearing the print and articles from Vogue and Harpers Bazaar on how leopard print has and will always be a forever iconic print.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I worked for one of largest banks in the world in the year 2019, and at the time I thought this was going to be the start of my forever career. Well I was wrong. during my short time there, I became I victim of workplace harassment, where I suffered extreme physical, verbal and mental abuse. After I left I suffered from severe anxiety, depression and insomnia. Then during my recovery period I pandemic approaches. During the pandemic, I did a lot of self reflecting and journaling. I also began to create vision boards on how I want my life and career to be. I thought I about the moments that made me happy and the experiences that I been apart of that have motivated me.

While I was in my last year of college I began working at the retailer Express which I loved. I enjoyed learning the back end of the retail world, the process of receiving shipment, packing orders for customers and learning about payroll, inventory & floor set. I was so driven there that I became a manager within less than a year of working for that company. I was a Leader.

In that moment of my life I was beyond driven to succeed even with severe family related moments happening. I was the most motivated than I ever was. My last couple of months of college my grandma went to heaven and my mother had a stroke. I was a manager, juggling 18 hours of courses and suffered from a loss and had was the soul person on helping my mother recover.

With all of the catastrophic moments happening during my life at that time I still managed to graduate from college and relocated to another store location to learn more about the company. So during the pandemic, I looked back on that period of my life where I didn’t let anything stop me from succeeding and wanted to get back to that place and NEVER look back.

I want the world to know that everyone goes through tough times, some worse than others but with the right support and self reflecting anyone can overcome.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take my best friend to Japan! I spent 10 days in Japan with my college dance team and loved every minute of it! My best friend loves to eat and shop just as much as I do. So of course, shopping and eating would be the most important items on the itinerary. I would love to go back to Harajuku Street and hit up EVERY store possible. I want to experience more sushi bars, sumo culture, visit every ancient temple and experience authentic anime films at Akihabara. I would also want to experience the Shibuya nightlife and see the Tokyo National Museum.

Japanese culture is so captivating and I would be so grateful to experience it again.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Connor Metoyer deserves the most credit for my current story! She has been my best friend since I was ten years old and has supported me and uplifted me during my entire business journey. Connor has been such as trooper during this extreme Texas Heat during each photoshoot. She has taught/shown me the true meaning of friendship and I am forever grateful that she’s a main asset to my business & life!

Website: www.shopleopardess.com

Instagram: @erinncamille