After having my first child five years ago, the hours I used to spend browsing my favorite boutiques and finding the perfect things to express myself turned into hours of changing diapers and feedings and, if I was lucky, sleeping for a minute or two in between. So, I turned to the internet late at night, between feedings, and for hours on end, trying to find my favorite things that could be delivered to my door. As my children have grown, so has my frustration.

While there are a zillion sites out there, none of them offered what I was looking for. First of all, I missed my friend; the sales person at the local boutique who was excited when I popped by, even if I didn’t buy anything. Second of all, where were all the unique pieces? I was tired of looking like every other Mom at the grocery store. So, realizing this experience was not unique to me, I started to think...with a background in sales and an obsession for fashion and accessories, why couldn’t I start the perfect online boutique? I wanted a fun place to shop that offered a boutique style shopping experience, customer service and all, with unique items not found everywhere. I wanted a one stop shopping experience that offered high end luxurious items that I could splurge on as well as less expensive but still fabulous things that I could buy on a whim.

Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, I was inspired at a young age by a wonderfully loving and fashionable British mother and a hardworking American father who was, and continues to be, the smartest and funniest person I know. From the time I could swim, Shoddy-Ba-Chic was in the making as my nickname from my father evolved over time from Tadpole to Shoddy-Ba...don't ask me why, but it stuck!

Flash forward 39 years and I am a stay-at-home mother of two. How did I get here? After graduating from a small liberal arts school in Ohio in 1994, I moved first to Atlanta and then to Manhattan for four years, during which time my love for fashion and accessories went insane. I was lucky enough to work in sales for Lambertson Truex, a small handbag, shoe, and luxury leather goods designer. This opportunity literally rescued me from my recruiting job and I was able to stop crying in the shower before work! I loved it there but fate stepped in. I met and married my husband of five years and moved back to Atlanta to be with him. Luckily, I was able to land an equally cool job with Spanx, the high end hosiery and shapewear company. It was while working at Spanx that I learned what it really means to be in sales. I learned how to drive and grow business as part of a completely dedicated and wonderfully fun sales team.

When I was expecting my first child I struggled with the decision to forge on with my career or become a stay-at-home mom. I was fortunate enough to be in a position to choose. Given our daughter Eliza's four months of colic, when it came time to go back to work I realized that I just couldn't. Twenty-one months later our son Blair arrived - and I found myself fully entrenched in full-time motherhood with my days of sales meetings and markets in Manhattan behind me. My children are everything to me but I knew something was missing!

Somewhere along the way, the girl who just knew she would love every minute of being a stay-at-home Mom realized that fashion and - yes, work - are very much a part of what makes her happy and fulfilled. So, after years of creating a vision in my head of what my website will look like, I am taking a leap... I am starting a website called Shoddy-Ba-Chic in hopes that, like the quirky nickname my father gave me at age 4, it will stick.

Like your favorite local boutique, my vision is that it will be a fun place to shop from browsing to purchase to delivery in the comfort of your own home...but with access to a personal shopper one phone call away...and open 24 hours. It will be stocked full of some things Shoddy (aka affordable) but all things chic from one of a kind high end pieces to basic "favorite" things like cashmere sweaters and great tee shirts...and many things in between! I also hope it will offer the online shopper like me something you can’t buy, the feeling that you are shopping with a friend.

I hope you will be a part of it!

Missy Rainey Ferguson "Shoddy-Ba"