FARMINGTON – Tammy Parsons, owner of Divine Inspirations Footwear, has seen many changes over the course of her 12-year business journey, including her retail space.
Parsons’ business began as a love for crafts and making gifts, which led her to a position working at a gift shop. When the owner of the gift shop decided to close, Parsons decided to open her own gift shop. She went into business with her brother selling gifts and shoes after noticing a need for footwear in the area.
“I had the gift store, but he lived in New Hampshire, so I was running it, and it just worked that the shoes kept growing and growing, and the gifts did well, too, but there was more of a need for footwear,” Parsons said. “I ended up buying the shoes from him, buying that business, and I moved my gift store downtown, so then I had a shoe store on Front Street and a gift store, but that was too much, and there was a lot going on in my life, so I closed the gift store and went back to shoes.”
Parsons’ business journey and decision-making experience regarding her business has been influenced, in part, by her experience as a mother. Nestled in the back of her brand new space at the corner of Broadway and Main Streets is a corner tailored to the delight of any visiting child.
“I’ve done this for over 12 years and so I’ve had a lot of parents come in with their kids, and it’s hard because they’re running around trying to chase their kids, and they’re like, ‘I’ll just come back when I don’t have kids,’ and I just feel like, ‘when is that?’” Parsons said. “And so I decided I wanted to have room for the kids to have a place to play so that the parents could shop, but also so that it keeps them from…they like to take all the shoes off the shelf…Being a mom, I just know I appreciated it when there were places for my kids to have a space.”
Another component of her journey created further and more difficult decision-making experiences in regard to the number of retail spaces she was managing. As a woman and business owner, Parsons emphasized the value of taking care of one’s health and highlighted the importance of having a balance between working and maintaining a personal life.
“I ended up with metastatic breast cancer, stage four, that had gotten into my bones, and my liver and into my lungs,” Parsons said. “So, I had to back off to take care of me; I needed some time to think about whether I’d be able to take that on and I didn’t want to go back to the stress and not have time to make sure I’m taking care of myself…I’m not going to take on more than I can handle.”
Many of her recent challenges in the footwear industry have been closely impacted by the pandemic; her ability to order and get certain brands and styles in stock has been difficult. However, returning to normalcy meant something very different for her. Parsons is driven by desire to provide excellent customer service, but also a strong will to keep living.
“There was a determination…every time I was able to do more work, and I could pick up boxes and begin to be normal again…it was a victory step,” Parsons said. “Doing this whole thing after I’d been through what I’d been through, it was amazing, being normal again…I didn’t want to give up.”
Parsons is happy to serve the community and listen to everyone’s foot story, stating, “everyone has a foot story.”
