By Amanda Raymond
amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — A single mom turned making bows and tutus for her daughter into an online business that now has a physical location.

Alexandria Marie & Co. has opened at 115 S. Central Avenue in Landis. The store held its grand opening on Sept. 20.

Jessica Rayfield, storeowner, said the business offers custom clothing and item designs for pageants, birthdays and other special events, as well as everyday wear.

“I’ve always had a desire to have a retail store,” she said.

She does monograms, embroidery and vinyl work. Right now the store has customizable mugs, wine glasses, tumblers and bags, along with clothing. She also does embroidery and vinyl logos for business uniforms.

Rayfield has been a stay-at-home-mom for seven years. She dabbled in making tutus and bows for her daughter when she was 2 years old.

While pregnant with her third child, she got laid off from her store manager position. She had a hard time finding another job, so she bought a sewing machine and taught herself to sew.

Rayfield started an online custom design business and was able to get customers from within the county and other places like Concord.

The store is actually named after her daughter, Alexandria Marie. The “Co.” part also ties in to the first part of her two sons’ names, Connor and Cooper.

The downside of having customers from a wider variety of places was that Rayfield would sometimes have to meet the customers to exchange the products, which would take up a lot of time.

Now, she has a central location that customers can visit to pick up their items.

By the end of the month or early next month, Rayfield said she wants to offer more walk-in holiday items for customers to get customized.

She ultimately wants the store to be both retail and a place where people can purchase custom items for themselves or to give as gifts.

“It’s something that you can get custom that you can’t get anywhere else,” she said.

What is now Alexandria Marie & Co. used to be Talbert’s Jewelry, Inc., a well-known store that was in Landis since the 1940s.

Rayfield said she reused and repurposed some of the items from the former store to use in her own.

She also took the jewelry cabinets off of the walls to make way for her displays, painted the walls and put in new floors.

Rayfield said her days can get busy with three children and church activities, but it is all worth it.

The store is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The store is closed Sundays and Tuesdays.

For more information and updates, visit Alexandria Marie & Co.’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/alexandriamarieandco.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.