Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Juli Cleaver with me. Welcome, Juli.
Juli Cleaver: Hi, Toni.
Toni: How are you today?
Juli: Good. How about you?
Toni: I’m great. It’s 60 degrees outside in February, right?
Juli: Yes. It was nice walking in today.
Toni: Absolutely. You weren’t walking in the snow.
Juli: No.
Toni: So Juli, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Juli: I am a Berks County native. I graduated from Exeter High School and went on to Albright, graduated with a degree in fashion. Moved on to Boscov’s, where I was a buyer there for three-and-a-half years until I decided to go for it and opened up my own boutique. I am the owner of Bella Jules. We are celebrating 12 years being open. We carry a little bit of everything. It’s a women’s boutique, so I have anything from casual dresses to jewelry, accessories, all the way to formal gowns for the mother of the bride and prom dresses. We were just honored this year by Berks County Living with the Lifetime Award for Best Local Boutique, so that was really exciting.
Toni: Was that the Best of Berks?
Juli: Yes.
Toni: That’s right. Congratulations on all of that.
Juli: Thank you.
Toni: Let’s go into the project. Juli, what does inspiration mean to you?
Juli: For me, I’m one that always has my eyes wide open, always looking, watching my surroundings for inspiration. For me, inspiration is dreaming, thinking, creating, and then learning, following through on all that with a vision, passion, and motivation to get to your goal.
Toni: Is this something that you do actively, that you are actively seeking inspiration?
Juli: I think so. I think I am always, whether it’s something I’m reading or on social media. I’ve joined some retailer groups to get some inspiration from other retailers. I really do believe that it’s something that I’m always looking for ways to improve.
Toni: Is it a physical feeling when you’re inspired? Do you know it when it happens?
Juli: Yes. I think it’s a feeling that I feel in my gut that’s like, “Okay, this is it. I’m going to do it.”
Toni: That’s fantastic. How do you put that into practice here in Berks?
Juli: When I was 26 years old I took a leap of faith, followed my inspiration of opening up a store, and to this day, I still am looking for inspiration, trying to find better product, bring better services to the community. I picked West Reading because I wanted to be part of a community that I could help grow. I just came from a promotions and marketing meeting for West Reading. Being part of planning events; anything that we can continue to attract people to West Reading, help it grow. Just create an amazing environment there.
One of the other ways that I’ve really been enjoying recently is that I do work with two college students, but I always work with college students as interns. I feel like I give them the opportunity to learn, develop, grow, and hopefully find their inspiration, which is really rewarding, and then also I get inspired from them with their fresh, young viewpoints. It’s a win-win.
Toni: The word you used earlier was when you described your meaning of inspiration was dream; being able to dream. At 26 years old, what inspired you to go after that dream? That’s courage.
Juli: I think it was something that I just always wanted. Actually, when I was at Albright I took a small business class. I wrote my business plan basically in college class, and just tweaked it when I was ready. I will say that I have an amazing stepfather that was like, “This is what you want to do. Go do it.” He was definitely a little whisper in my ear to help encourage me to go after my dream.
Toni: I would imagine you have to, in order to stay in business as long as you have, you have to do things to stay inspired or to be reinspired by your business.
Juli: Correct. Actually, one of the things is that I work a lot, and I felt like my life needed a little balance in order to help reenergize the business. One of the things that I did was I took up a painting class. Every Wednesday night I go for three hours and do oil painting. That studio is filled with an abundance of inspiration. The work that I create helps bring creativity back into my business. Seeing other people’s artwork is just truly a place of joy that definitely has always helped me feel inspired in all areas of my life.
Toni: What a great lesson for people to hear from you, that you have to do things to stay creative, to be inspired, to be reinspired, to keep that going.
Juli: Definitely.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
Juli: I know it’s a little cliché, but my mom. She’s somebody that I look at, and when I think about it, she seems to be able to do anything. She always seems to have the right answer. Also my stepdad because, as I said, he was the one that helped me start my business. He always tells me somebody helped him, so he wants to always pay it forward. I’ve learned from him the value of trying to give. I tried to apply that to my life the best I can.
Then I will also say in light of everything that’s been brought up with Mr. Boscov lately, because I worked at Boscov’s, he is a man that created a successful business, has a good work environment, created a strong, loyal customer base, and then was involved in his community. To me, when you really think about it, he lives an inspired life and is also inspiring.
Toni: If you see pictures from his family on Facebook now, you can see that his humor is still intact, and he is still inspiring people even now, which is amazing.
Juli: It is.
Toni: Anybody else you want to give a shout out to?
Juli: Well, of course my customers. I wouldn’t be here without them. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of really great people. I love hearing their stories of, “Hey, I got a compliment. It felt so great.” This one woman, she just came in and I convinced her to buy a camo hoodie, because camo is trendy right now. She has four boys. She said, “I dress nice all the time. I put this camo hoodie on, and they were crazy for it.” I’m like, “Oh, that’s so great.” Young teenage boys paying attention to what mom has on. It feels good.
Toni: Juli, what would you like your legacy to be?
Juli: I hope that I and the store make a positive impact on the community. I hope that people just enjoy shopping at the store. I hope they find clothing that makes them feel like their best self. When you see somebody put on something that they feel good in, you can see a change in posture and the smile on the face. Also, I think back of how many events that I can associate with what I had on. I read a really great quote, because right now we’re in prom season. It said, “The magic of prom night starts with the dress.” That’s what I really hope, that the clothing that people are finding at my boutique is part of some really memorable experiences for them.
Toni: It’s amazing when I listen to people talk about their legacy and I have the privilege to sit in front of people for 10 minutes during an interview. I have to remind the invisible obvious of the shop is just a shop, but there’s a heartbeat within it, and that heartbeat is the legacy; that, and the experience that you’re creating for others. That’s what I heard in this entire interview. Thank you so much for showing up today for the Get Inspired! Project.
Juli: Thank you for having me.
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Juli Cleaver with me. Welcome, Juli.
Juli Cleaver: Hi, Toni.
Toni: How are you today?
Juli: Good. How about you?
Toni: I’m great. It’s 60 degrees outside in February, right?
Juli: Yes. It was nice walking in today.
Toni: Absolutely. You weren’t walking in the snow.
Juli: No.
Toni: So Juli, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Juli: I am a Berks County native. I graduated from Exeter High School and went on to Albright, graduated with a degree in fashion. Moved on to Boscov’s, where I was a buyer there for three-and-a-half years until I decided to go for it and opened up my own boutique. I am the owner of Bella Jules. We are celebrating 12 years being open. We carry a little bit of everything. It’s a women’s boutique, so I have anything from casual dresses to jewelry, accessories, all the way to formal gowns for the mother of the bride and prom dresses. We were just honored this year by Berks County Living with the Lifetime Award for Best Local Boutique, so that was really exciting.
Toni: Was that the Best of Berks?
Juli: Yes.
Toni: That’s right. Congratulations on all of that.
Juli: Thank you.
Toni: Let’s go into the project. Juli, what does inspiration mean to you?
Juli: For me, I’m one that always has my eyes wide open, always looking, watching my surroundings for inspiration. For me, inspiration is dreaming, thinking, creating, and then learning, following through on all that with a vision, passion, and motivation to get to your goal.
Toni: Is this something that you do actively, that you are actively seeking inspiration?
Juli: I think so. I think I am always, whether it’s something I’m reading or on social media. I’ve joined some retailer groups to get some inspiration from other retailers. I really do believe that it’s something that I’m always looking for ways to improve.
Toni: Is it a physical feeling when you’re inspired? Do you know it when it happens?
Juli: Yes. I think it’s a feeling that I feel in my gut that’s like, “Okay, this is it. I’m going to do it.”
Toni: That’s fantastic. How do you put that into practice here in Berks?
Juli: When I was 26 years old I took a leap of faith, followed my inspiration of opening up a store, and to this day, I still am looking for inspiration, trying to find better product, bring better services to the community. I picked West Reading because I wanted to be part of a community that I could help grow. I just came from a promotions and marketing meeting for West Reading. Being part of planning events; anything that we can continue to attract people to West Reading, help it grow. Just create an amazing environment there.
One of the other ways that I’ve really been enjoying recently is that I do work with two college students, but I always work with college students as interns. I feel like I give them the opportunity to learn, develop, grow, and hopefully find their inspiration, which is really rewarding, and then also I get inspired from them with their fresh, young viewpoints. It’s a win-win.
Toni: The word you used earlier was when you described your meaning of inspiration was dream; being able to dream. At 26 years old, what inspired you to go after that dream? That’s courage.
Juli: I think it was something that I just always wanted. Actually, when I was at Albright I took a small business class. I wrote my business plan basically in college class, and just tweaked it when I was ready. I will say that I have an amazing stepfather that was like, “This is what you want to do. Go do it.” He was definitely a little whisper in my ear to help encourage me to go after my dream.
Toni: I would imagine you have to, in order to stay in business as long as you have, you have to do things to stay inspired or to be reinspired by your business.
Juli: Correct. Actually, one of the things is that I work a lot, and I felt like my life needed a little balance in order to help reenergize the business. One of the things that I did was I took up a painting class. Every Wednesday night I go for three hours and do oil painting. That studio is filled with an abundance of inspiration. The work that I create helps bring creativity back into my business. Seeing other people’s artwork is just truly a place of joy that definitely has always helped me feel inspired in all areas of my life.
Toni: What a great lesson for people to hear from you, that you have to do things to stay creative, to be inspired, to be reinspired, to keep that going.
Juli: Definitely.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
Juli: I know it’s a little cliché, but my mom. She’s somebody that I look at, and when I think about it, she seems to be able to do anything. She always seems to have the right answer. Also my stepdad because, as I said, he was the one that helped me start my business. He always tells me somebody helped him, so he wants to always pay it forward. I’ve learned from him the value of trying to give. I tried to apply that to my life the best I can.
Then I will also say in light of everything that’s been brought up with Mr. Boscov lately, because I worked at Boscov’s, he is a man that created a successful business, has a good work environment, created a strong, loyal customer base, and then was involved in his community. To me, when you really think about it, he lives an inspired life and is also inspiring.
Toni: If you see pictures from his family on Facebook now, you can see that his humor is still intact, and he is still inspiring people even now, which is amazing.
Juli: It is.
Toni: Anybody else you want to give a shout out to?
Juli: Well, of course my customers. I wouldn’t be here without them. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of really great people. I love hearing their stories of, “Hey, I got a compliment. It felt so great.” This one woman, she just came in and I convinced her to buy a camo hoodie, because camo is trendy right now. She has four boys. She said, “I dress nice all the time. I put this camo hoodie on, and they were crazy for it.” I’m like, “Oh, that’s so great.” Young teenage boys paying attention to what mom has on. It feels good.
Toni: Juli, what would you like your legacy to be?
Juli: I hope that I and the store make a positive impact on the community. I hope that people just enjoy shopping at the store. I hope they find clothing that makes them feel like their best self. When you see somebody put on something that they feel good in, you can see a change in posture and the smile on the face. Also, I think back of how many events that I can associate with what I had on. I read a really great quote, because right now we’re in prom season. It said, “The magic of prom night starts with the dress.” That’s what I really hope, that the clothing that people are finding at my boutique is part of some really memorable experiences for them.
Toni: It’s amazing when I listen to people talk about their legacy and I have the privilege to sit in front of people for 10 minutes during an interview. I have to remind the invisible obvious of the shop is just a shop, but there’s a heartbeat within it, and that heartbeat is the legacy; that, and the experience that you’re creating for others. That’s what I heard in this entire interview. Thank you so much for showing up today for the Get Inspired! Project.
Juli: Thank you for having me.
