FAVOUR — Hello | Lindsay Branquinho

Truthfully, after losing my dad last year I hit a crossroads. I was sad, I was grieving, I wanted only to be close to my family and spend my days with my boys. I was in no shape to deal with the day to day challenges and demands that come along with owning your own business. But those real life things don’t just stop for grief, and for months I felt like I was barely keeping my head above water. On one hand I couldn’t bear to see everything I had worked so hard for, for the previous 6 years crumble, so I kept giving it everything I could, but I had moments when I just didn’t know if I had it in me to keep at it. The everyday setbacks you inevitably face as a business owner started to feel overwhelming. I had poured so much of my heart into that shop; caring for it, watching it grow and evolve, creating friendships and memories - that it felt more like an extension of myself than just a business. That was the part of it that I needed to find a way back to. In all this soul searching I realized that it was finally the right time to do what I had wanted to do for so long, and that was to give the shop a new name.

This is a change that’s been a long time coming. I purchased an already established business, it had been a mainstay in the valley since 1998. I inherited the name Ladybug, along with so many other really wonderful things about the shop, but the name was never really me. For many (very boring) reasons, at the time that I took over a name change just wasn’t feasible. Honestly, back then I don’t even know what I would have called the place (doubtful it would have been anything great). But as we all know, timing is everything, and when I finally made that decision to pull the trigger on the name switch, I realized that the perfect one had been staring me in the face the entire time.

FAVOUR

It’s my maiden name. The one that I answered to for more of my life than any other. The one my father had given me. And now I would give it to my little shop.

My dad and I were really close and there was no part of my life that wasn’t touched by his loss. He was always my biggest cheerleader and never missed a chance to tell me how proud he was of me running my own business. He called it ‘the dress shop’. He would come sit on the tiny couch, surrounded by racks of ladies clothes, and just hang out every time he came to town. We were so alike in so many ways, but he was also the kind of person who I strive to be more like everyday. One of the definitions of the word FAVOUR reads like this:

noun: favour

an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual.

That was my dad. He was always everything beyond was was due or usual. He had 3 daughters and we all have new last names now. This feels like a small way I can give new life to the Favour name that he was so proud of. It’s his handwriting that we used for the logo, and the Spear F icon that goes along with it is the brand that has been our family for generations. It’s about the past and the future.

Favour, in all of it’s meanings is what I have always wanted to shop to be. I want it to be the place you find your favorite things. A place where we can do something for you. And not least of all, a place that is truly a piece of me.

This is just the first big step towards other goals and dreams I have for the shop. There are new projects in motion that I can’t wait to see come to life! I can’t say that this isn’t a little scary, after all I’m basically breaking rule #1 (2 & 3) of business here, but this was a decision I had to make with my heart, and not my head. Besides, you know what they say - fortune FAVOURs the brave.