Here at Calluna we are always looking for new ways to highlight and honor our amazing creative partners. We feel incredibly fortunate to work with some truly talented vendors in the industry, and we’re always thrilled to shine a spotlight on our beloved Colorado wedding community.
Since COVID-19 hit the wedding industry (and the world) with a sledgehammer and subsequently shaking up life as we know it, these small businesses had to pivot and adjust – quickly. With every new challenge a new opportunity is born. We’re elated to continue this our vendor spotlight series but with an intentional focus on the creative vendors who have so beautifully shown up in this new normal with inspiring new business ventures.
Today we’re chatting with our dear friends at Eclectic Hive. Jill Livingston, owner and creative director of Eclectic Hive, and her team just launched their first ever Hive Retail Line. We’re so excited to learn more about it and catch up with this incredible team.
Tell us about the new retail line! Eclectic Hive is known for our residential approach to event design, so it’s fitting that we branch out and offer a retail line of Hive styling! Jill’s passions are decor, design, travel, and fashion and that comes through in the first line of jewelry, books, home decor and gifts.
What’s the inspiration behind the new line? Bringing the style of Hive to your home.
What piece(s) are your favorites / any early best sellers? The entire jewelry line and the Plumeria earrings have been the best seller!
What advice would you give to small businesses pivoting in 2020 and 2021? Above all else, follow your passions and identify areas of opportunity. That may mean pivoting, but this has provided us all the opportunity to really assess where we were and where we want to go. That may mean letting go of things to allow space for new or simply tightening systems and teams to making the next version of us even better. But do your homework and be sure there is opportunity in the new direction.
How does the new area of business impact Eclectic Hive as we know it now? For the most part, it’s business as usual with The Hive. We still offer a high end, luxury line of inventory and design services for our clients. The biggest change for us is that we are staying boutique. We will operate with a much smaller team (to avoid the growing overhead expenses of a larger company with larger team), and we are focusing our efforts on full scope event design. We have had an opportunity to look at the company under a microscope and I think we have fine tuned the operation to be even better in years to come. Paired with the new retail line that was a passion for years that we could finally bring to life, we are right where we want to be!
Any long term plans for an in-person boutique, or should supporters plan on e-commerce for now? We do sell in-store and depending on the growth of retail, we would love to look at expanding that wing of the company to draw non-event clients in. For now, it’s shop by appointment only until we are able to open up our doors to larger groups.
Want in on this new line? Us too! Visit Eclectic Hives Retail Shop to explore their entire retail line of jewelry, books, home decor and gifts!
Photos provided by | Eclectic Hive
Photographer | Paul Miller Photography
