COLUMBIA — Fifteen years after she created the Pink Sorbet clothing and accessories shop on Devine Street, Beth Baxley realized she wanted to spend more time with her grandkids.
To do that, though, she needed to step away from the store and find someone to take her place.
She then sat down for coffee last year with Alina Craft, a Cayce resident with a dream of running a boutique store. Craft reached out for advice on how to start and run a store, but Baxley offered something better.
“That just kind of turned into selling the store to her,” Baxley said.
Craft took over as the owner of Pink Sorbet on June 1 after working at the Columbia store since May 2021.
The store primarily sells clothes and accessories from designer Lilly Pulitzer.
The dresses are known for their bright floral patterns meant primarily for the warmer seasons, according to Baxley. She started the store in 2007 with help from her family.
The style of dress was created by Lilly Pulitzer, who lived in Florida around 1950. She decided to make a patterned dress that could hide stains it’d get while she sold juice at Palm Beach.
However, as people became more interested in the dress than the juice, she decided to focus on selling dresses. She then made Lilly Pulitzer Inc. in 1959.
Baxley said Craft’s knowledge of the product, accrued through 20 years of shopping the brand, and her willingness to go help customers and staff were what stood out to her when considering Craft as her successor.
“I saw me in her,” Baxley said. “I feel like she's my younger sister.”
Craft started shopping at Pink Sorbet in 2013 after a quick web search for stores that sold Lilly Pulitzer dresses. She said Baxley recognized her on her first visit from Craft's Instagram, where Craft tried on different dresses and reviewed them.
As she kept coming in, she'd continue to talk with Baxley. Baxley would even order items for Craft if they were out. Eventually, the two exchanged phone numbers and Baxley would personally keep her updated on orders and new items.
"It was kind of nice to pop in here on my lunch break and just be in a happy space and be around people I felt close to or comfortable with," Craft said.
After years of working in a corporate setting as a sales representative or business consultant, she finally had an opportunity to pursue her dream job. Besides loving the fashion, she loves retail because she gets the opportunity to create relationships with customers beyond just shopping for dresses.
To prepare for the role as owner, Craft worked within the brightly colored walls and forest of dresses in Pink Sorbet for a year starting last May. She ran the social media pages for the store and worked directly with customers, which she said is her favorite part of the job.
She also would be looking over Baxley’s shoulder as she handled the more business-oriented side of things. While Craft has years of experience working in retail, running her own store was a new feat.
Learning the ins and outs of running one, however, meant she had to spend less time working directly with customers.
Despite this, though, she said she always tries to make time to go out and talk to those looking for a dress.
“That gives me kind of a pick me up and helps me remember why I'm doing what I'm doing,” Craft said.
The relationship between the customer and the store is more than just picking up a dress for some, according to both women.
Baxley said the store has hosted generations of women who come to shop. She’d even take pictures of different generations of a family wearing their dresses in the store when she got a chance.
Craft said she’s talked with customers about their families, work or even talked to a customer about a bad day in the living room like setting in the middle of the shop.
“You become almost like family with a lot of the customers,” Craft said.
Craft is now a month in as the owner of Pink Sorbet. She’s brought in new accessories, such as jewelry, to the store and plans to make the website easier to use for those who may live further away from the store.
Meanwhile, Baxley is on a true vacation. No longer does she need to bring her laptop on every trip to keep running the store. She instead sends a few texts to Craft checking in on how things are going.
“When you open a business you hope the next person will do exactly the way you did it or even better. I think Alina is going to do that,” Baxley said.
