"Becoming" - A Word That Says It All

When we asked Steph to describe womanhood in one word, she didn't hesitate for long.

"I think I always come back to the word becoming," she told us. "I know it's technically a verb, but thinking about how womanhood is something that's always changing. It really is not just one thing."

For Steph, womanhood has never been a destination. It's a direction. At every stage of her life, that word has meant something different, and she finds beauty in that. "Even when I'm a grandma, I'm still going to be becoming a woman in a different way," she said with a laugh. It's a philosophy that shows up in everything she does. From the way she curates her store to the way she talks about the years ahead.

The Hard Years: Early 20s and Standing Still

But becoming isn't always easy. Steph was candid about the seasons of her life when that word felt completely out of reach.

"My 20s have been my hardest decade," she shared. "In my early 20s especially, it felt like I was stagnant - not becoming the woman I wanted to be, not as confident as I am now, and not comfortable with the fact that there was so much change going on."

She wasn't talking about life moving too slowly. The years were passing. Opportunities were presenting themselves. But something deeper wasn't shifting. "I was just kind of trying things on and not really getting anywhere," she said. "I felt like I spent years doing the same thing."

Now, on the cusp of 30, she sees it differently. That restlessness wasn't failure, it was the friction that pushed her forward.

Opening the Store: A First Baby of a Different Kind

Today, Steph's days are full. She's up early, carving out quiet time for herself before heading to her shop - a space she describes as a living, breathing extension of herself. From restocking and styling the floor to handling every customer email and social media message personally, she's in it completely.

"An honest extension of myself," is how she describes the store. But she's quick to correct that framing. "It's really not just about my closet. It's like an extension of all the women that I love and the women I know and am inspired by."

That ethos is deliberate. When Steph thinks about how she wants customers to feel walking through the door, she lands on something that feels more like a relationship than a retail transaction.

"I want it to feel like a closet, almost like a closet sale where there's no pressure," she said. "Some women walk in with their headphones on and it's just part of their routine. Some women want to chat and catch up about their week. I just want them to feel like however they showed up that day is totally fine."

She calls the store her "first baby." She's learning that the reality of what she's built looks a little different than the dream she held onto.

The Unglamorous Truth About Building Something Beautiful

Steph is the first to say that running a small business in 2026 is nothing like the romanticized version she once imagined.

"You don't think about the fact that every day, even if it's negative 20 in Chicago, you show up," she said. "It's not something that's only on a sunny Saturday."

The slow days are the real test. "It's about keeping your emotions not spiky," she told us. "On a really great day, tempering the high. On a really bad day, meeting yourself halfway." She's learning to zoom out. To measure success by the month, the year, not the hour. For someone who moves, by her own admission, "100 miles a minute," that's a practice in itself.

And then there's the part no one talks about enough: becoming a small business owner today means becoming a public figure, whether you're ready or not.

"I didn't fully internalize that becoming a small business owner in 2026 means you are a content creator," she said. "You can't really hide away in your bubble. The confidence to show up and say not just this is my business, but this is me - that's really hard."

Success Isn't Always a Packed House

Ask Steph what success looks like, and she'll tell you it's not what you'd expect.

"A lot of people think success looks like a really packed store on a Saturday morning," she said. "And in a lot of ways, that does feel like success. But when I've felt really successful, it's sometimes the moments where it's one customer who finds something."

She described a woman discovering her first perfect pair of vintage Levi's. The kind that fit like they were made just for her. "They didn't realize they made them like that, just for them," Steph said. "That's when someone has a really special experience they can't get anywhere else."

That's the bar she holds herself to.

The Weight Women Carry and the Grace It Takes

We asked Steph something she clearly thinks about often: the invisible pressure women carry that the men around them simply don't.

"There's so many goals I have to balance at once," she said. Things she wants for the store, for the brand, for her marriage, for her future family. "The concept of work-life balance, to me, is impossible. I like to go all in on whatever I'm doing."

She talked openly about the unique weight women face. Knowing that certain seasons of life require their body, their presence, their full attention in ways that don't apply the same way for their partners. "There is just that natural pressure that women feel," she said. "And I'm definitely one of those people who will push myself."

And then there's the question of age, something Steph brought up unprompted and something that clearly sits with her. "In some conversations related to the store, I'm too young," she said. "And then when I go home and I'm scrolling, I'm too old." At the store, she's sometimes not recognized as the owner. At home, the internet tells her she's past her prime. Neither is true. Both sting in their own way.

"There's never the perfect age, the perfect stage of life to be successful," she said. "And I think women face that so much more than our male counterparts."

What Her Mom Taught Her About Reinvention

When Steph talks about the women who shaped her, her mom comes up almost immediately.

"She was always there. So selfless." But what strikes Steph most isn't just her mother's presence. It's her willingness to keep changing. Teacher. Full-time mom. Back to school. Intern. Back to teaching. And now, finding a brand new love for tutoring children learning to read.

"She's just such an example that you can change your definition of womanhood whenever you want," Steph said. "And she's always shown up as the best version of herself in every single stage."

That permission - to pivot, to grow, to not be locked into one version of yourself - is something Steph carries with her every day.

What She'd Tell Her Younger Self

If she could go back, what would she say?

"Slow down."

She smiled as she said it. "I feel like in my career I've gone in one big circle. And a lot of that could have been a little more enjoyable if I just let the pieces fall instead of forcing the next thing." It's not about being passive. It's about trusting that time and action together, not just relentless action alone, will bring you where you're supposed to be.

And effortlessness? That word so many women are told to embody?

"Most of it is not effortless," she said honestly. "But the effortless part: the curating, the sourcing, the hunt, that's what makes the work feel worth it. How can you fill your days with things that put you in a flow state? And then, maybe, life starts to feel a little more effortless."

Still Becoming

Steph is 29. She has a store, a brand, a husband, a dog named Bear, and a head full of goals she's trying not to chase all at once. She's learning to zoom out, to meet herself halfway, to show up 100% in whatever season she's in.

She's not finished. She's not supposed to be.

She's still becoming. And honestly, that's exactly the point.

We're honored to share Steph's story as part of our International Women's Day series. Stay tuned as we continue spotlighting the extraordinary women in our community who are building, creating, and becoming every single day. Check out her video on our Instagram.