Meet Emily French | Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily French and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, how do you define success?
Discovering one’s own version of success is a fundamental part of having a business. While there’s always room for your goals to evolve, knowing what YOU want out of your business from the start will ground you and help on the days you go down the rabbit hole of comparison. Remember: when you see successful people “doing it all”, they probably aren’t. Teamwork makes the dream work, but if you’re the whole team, just remember that “doing it all” can’t all be done at once, and that’s okay. For me, success is when I feel content and proud of what I’ve done. There are so many new products I want to create that haven’t been made yet, so many expected timelines that went past the projected schedule. But I’ve also started a business from scratch! I had ideas in my head and made them come to life. Heck, I’ve even learned about the boring and scary world of small business taxes. If we spend too much time focusing on what hasn’t been accomplished yet, we aren’t allowing ourselves to be proud of what we’ve done so far. If other small businesses have done things you want to do, great! Be happy for them! It’s proof that you can do it too when the time is right.
My view of success in the long-term would involve more human interaction. This could mean collaborating with other small businesses, helping people design a space in their home with some of the products I’ve created, even having a brick and mortar store. But in the meantime, success will be feeling good at the end of the day that I worked hard on something I’m passionate about.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While I love having a small business, it hasn’t always been easy. I didn’t take any business classes in college, so I literally had to learn everything from scratch. While I still have a lot more to learn, I’ve learned this: those who are successful are the ones who just keep going. I didn’t have any business experience. I wasn’t skilled with the materials and tools I now use regularly for my products. But one day, I decided I was going to try, even if I didn’t produce perfect results. Everything is scary when it’s new and hasn’t been done before, but I’d rather get through the tears and uncomfortable feelings of doing something than sit with the paralyzing feelings of not even trying and wondering what could be. Sometimes with art, people will superficially say “well anyone could do that”. Yeah, but you didn’t.
The same principle goes for having a small business. Don’t let self doubt or doubts of others stop you from trying. Just keep going, keep building, keep creating. You can do this.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Pittsburgh is just starting to get the recognition it deserves, but it is still so highly underrated! It’s why it inspires the names of my products. The food, people, and culture here is amazing. I’d probably show someone a neighborhood a day.

1. Regent Square: where my first apartment was and where I hope to move back to
Food:
Madeleine Bakery and Bistro. Hands down the best bakery in the city. Their macarons are what macarons should really taste like. Get the bouchon and kouign amann too.
Biddle’s Cafe. A few steps from the bakery and a quintessential space in Regent Square. Great coffee and tea, but the space is also full of bohemian treasures and works from local artists
Workshop PGH. A wonderful plant and home goods shop. The owner Kelly has an amazing eye, and it’s always a happy place to walk around after getting coffee and pastries
After everything, just walk around the neighborhood. Everyone here is friendly and down-to-earth, and all of the houses are charming. You could even walk over to Frick Park, the largest park in the city.

2. Oakland: college area, perfect for art lovers and inexpensive eats
Phipps Conservatory. They always have beautiful exhibits, and the architecture of the greenhouse is just stunning
Schenley Park. Grab a picnic blanket and bring a frisbee. If you go up by the Oval, you can see an amazing view of the city that no one talks about enough
Carnegie Library. A huge library, great for quiet time. My favorite spot to sit and read is back in the nonfiction section. There are ledges next to windows that overlook the dinosaur area of the natural history museum.
Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History: an expansive museum that also features a lovely cafe

3. Squirrel Hill: favorite place for food
Panda Supermarket: an Asian food market, where I can always find a new fun snack or ingredient to try
Dobra Tea: the BEST spot for tea. You’ve gotta get the chai. All of their food is delicious too. Just find a nook to sit with friends for a few hours and chat about everything
Ramen Bar: if you love ramen, need I say more?
Mineo’s Pizza: my fav pizza in the city. Never had a disappointing slice
Jerry’s Records: one of the largest record stores in the country. You can always find me back in the jazz section searching for something by Sidney Bechet

4. Lawrenceville: best for all around shopping and eating. If you only have one day in the city, this is possibly the best place to go. Just find a spot to park on Butler Street around the 40s-50s and spend the day walking and window-shopping.
Wildcard. The perfect store to find cards, gifts, Pittsburgh-themed t-shirts, and more
Gold Dust Floral. My favorite flower shop in the city. Janessa the owner is wonderful, I love her eye. Michelle is one of the main employees there, and she’s helped me with any question I’ve asked about plants
The Vandal. Small restaurant, just perfect. I think one of the best in the city.
Mello & Sons. An incredible vintage place. Classic industrial, Americana kinda feel. Their selection of vintage Levis is unmatched.

5. Strip District: classic Pittsburgh. All of the food you could want.
Sambok Korean groceries. You’ve got to get chicken on a stick outside. I can’t go to the strip and not order this.
Roxanne’s Dried Flowers. This is one of the most whimsical places you’ll ever walk through, and I guarantee you’ll walk out with something.
Pamela’s. Best breakfast. Get the strawberry and brown sugar hotcakes, no other place does it like them.

Can you tell I love Pittsburgh? There’s so much more, I could go on forever. I’ll try to limit it to a few more things.

The breweries here are incredible. Some of my favs are Cinderlands, Hitchhiker, Grist House, and Allegheny City Brewing
Other great coffee shops: Big Dog in Southside, KLVN in East Liberty, Adda on the North Side
Mediterra in Mt Lebanon and Sewickley are top tier in aesthetic and quality of their food.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband, Ian. I need a new table in my work station? He builds it. I need a full day for product photography? He does the laundry and goes out for groceries. I need to get some work done but I’m feeling unmotivated? He’ll say “come on, I’ll come with you. I can sit and chat with you while you work.” He believes in me even when I don’t believe in myself. There would be no shop without Ian.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/loveemmydot

Instagram: @loveemmydot