The interior design team from Chic to Chic Furniture includes (from left) Cindy Schrom, store manager James Buckley Mathews, and Rita Bryant. The store recently expanded to encompass the continually growing inventory of eclectic and unique furnishings and accessories. Photo by Derik Simovart
Combining the immediacy of social media with the power of face-to-face human connections equals success and growth for Chic to Chic Furniture in Corpus Christi. Now celebrating nine years as the place to find the best in affordable eclectic accessories and designer furnishings, Chic to Chic has learned to embrace technology without losing touch with the personal tastes and desires of its customers.
“If you want to effectively reach your marketplace and cultivate your audiences, you have to be active on social media,” owner Shawna Cogar said. “The last six months, I have sold more merchandise from just being on Instagram.”
Cogar’s use of social media looks to both the present and the future.
“Social media reaches out to the younger generation, who may not have the buying power right now,” she said. “But they are the influencers. They are telling their friends and their family.”
With that future clientele in mind, Cogar fills her storefront at 526 Everhart Road with a wide variety of home decor at affordable prices. She has an annual sale, which she said will be bigger and better than ever this year. Called Margaritas and Markdowns, the sale honors customers, celebrates the store and features great deals Sept. 27-Oct. 1. Cogar urged shoppers of all income levels, including college students, to come take a look.
“We are respectful of people’s budgets,” she said. “They can come in and buy a $14 candle or a $2,000 sofa. I have hundreds of items less than $20. We provide everything for the home — all the decorative objects that make a home a personalized space.”
Cogar buys as she travels the world. Her husband is an airline pilot for United, so she’s often on board heading to a new locale to look for the latest trends in home furnishings.
“Travel keeps me motivated and creative,” she said. “All I do is shop. I shop till I drop, every single day.”
Her dedicated search for the unique and inspiring led Cogar from a quest to personalize and furnish her own home to opening Chic to Chic. When she and her husband moved to Corpus Christi from San Diego in 2007, she had trouble finding anything that would fit her personal style as she decorated their new home
“I just felt like there needed to be another voice in the marketplace here in the furniture category,” she said. “Something more eclectic, which I define to mean that you derive your ideas and taste from a broad range of sources.”
That also defines the strength of Chic to Chic, which she created to fill that gap. Her people skills didn’t hurt either.
“I love helping people shop and save them money on designer goods,” she said. “That’s the heart of what we do. I try to provide the best possible price on a higher-end product — something more unique but affordable.”
As the enterprise grew from shop to storefront, Chic to Chic began to expand in the area of design as well. The sales team is made up of designers who are expert at keeping up with trends and helping customers find just the right pieces for their individual spaces. They will even visit a customer’s home in developing the right look and feel.
“I have just a great staff,” she said. “I couldn’t succeed without the wonderful people who work here.”
She also credits the store’s continued success and growth to the people of Corpus Christi. The town offered more than a good business opportunity; it also offered a population of friendly folks, including her fellow entrepreneurs. Social media — again — proved to be a gateway to making connections, this time business to business.
“If you follow another local business, they’ll follow you, and you get to know each other and support each other,” she said. “It builds community. We are all in the trenches each doing our own thing. I find it encouraging to see what’s going on in other business ventures.”
Technology enhances trade; it doesn’t eliminate the importance of building human relationships through face-to-face interaction, Cogar stressed.
“We promote lasting human relationships, and that’s why we’ve done so well in Corpus Christi,” she said. “We post beautiful displays that get people’s attention, but people still want to hold the merchandise, see a beautiful picture, touch the fabric.”
Which is why Cogar and her designers take the time and effort to visit firsthand the spaces being decorated or refurnished.
“We all go to appointments,” she said. “We go to the people’s homes, learn about them, their personality and how they use their spaces to find just the right piece for them — the right scale, size and color. I think this is how you stay in business and evolve.”
Chic to Chic is located at 526 Everhart Road at the corner of Alameda and Everhart in Corpus Christi. Call (361) 883-2442 or visit chictochicfurniture.com for more information. And don’t forget to find ChictochicFurniture on Facebook and Instagram and chicto_chic on Twitter to stay up with the latest in home decor.
