Spring 2009
Monograms Are Her Muse By Poornima Apte

Blame it all on two fairly unusual names: Ariana and Lucia. A few years ago, retailer Francene Dudziec had a hard time finding trendy and fun personalized items for her daughters, now 13-year-old Ariana and 2-year-old Lucia. It was when she was pregnant with Lucia that Dudziec decided she would put her art director background to good use and start a store that specialized in monogrammed products. The result was Monogram Muse, a gift store that opened its doors in November 2007 in Clarks Summit, PA.

Since then, the store has distinguished itself in the marketplace and has had a meteoric rise: Monogram Muse picked up a “Best New Business” award within just three months of its opening.

Dudziec says she has always had a love of art, words and typefaces. She worked as professional art director and rolled out designs for the University of Scranton for many years. The store, which Dudziec calls an “alphabet gift boutique,” marries her love of typography with her passion for selling trendy products.

Like any traditional gift store, Dudziec stocks a variety of products in the staples: products for babies, weddings, pets. Items range from traditional towels, linens, china and baby gifts to stationery, partyware, robes, bedding, luggage, handbags, jewelry, seasonal items like stockings, Halloween bags, Easter baskets and more. The difference of course is that everything can either be monogrammed or comes with initials already embossed. One of the hottest sellers at the store? Monogrammed toilet paper! “Believe or not, it’s on our top 10 in popularity for hostess and self-indulgence items especially during the holiday season,” Dudziec says.

Dudziec says monogrammed products are especially popular because they are a great way to make a gift personal—after all what better way to make a product yours than to inscribe your initials on it! “Monograms have always been special to me; using the letters from someone’s initials takes an ordinary item and makes it as special as the person for whom it’s intended,” Dudziec says. She points out that the practice of monogramming is centuries old, dating back as far as Greek and Roman periods, during which initials were used to identify rulers on coins.

Monogramming products can be time-consuming and sometimes customers have to come back, but Dudziec says this has not been a deterrent to her business model. “Very few customers assume it’s a ‘while you wait’ service, once I explain it to them, they don’t seem to mind coming back,” Dudziec says. “All of our prices include up to 12 letters of monogramming/names so if its inconvenient for a customer to return, we will wrap a small ‘return for free monogramming’ card with the gift so the recipient can return at their convenience,” she adds. The store also stocks a number of pre-lettered (monogrammed with a single initial) products for the customer on the go.

Monogram Muse has a commercial embroidery machine in the store for fabric items. This comprises about 80% of the business. “By offering this service in-store we can provide better quality control and faster turnarounds. Various other products requiring engraving, hand knitting and certain specialized personalization are completed by quality outside vendors,” Dudziec says.

Dudziec is a member of Monograms America, a Houston-based national networking organization for the small embroidery retailer. The protected territory (50 mile radius for each member) allows members to freely share their best selling products and ideas. Conventions are held twice a year. Retail stores associated with Monograms America specialize in high-quality gifts that can be personalized and offer a wide selection of gifts for all ages and all occasions.

Dudziec’s advice to retailers? Don’t over buy inventory. “I was given this advice many times when I was trying to stock the store for its opening and I admit, it’s difficult for a shopper like myself to put restrictions on purchases but it does pay off in the end. Unsold products tie up your finances and sit there wasting valuable shelf space,” she says. Dudziec also encourages fellow retailers to keep a close watch on small expenses and to always keep learning.

Her biggest challenge has been trying to figure out just the right mix of products the customers want. She says one mistake she made early on was in purchasing products that she thought fit customers’ needs but that instead ended up just taking up shelf space. ” I learned to ask for customer feedback, listen to what shoppers were saying and then remember those key points when making future purchasing decisions,” Dudziec says.

Monogram Muse is family-run: Ariana (who would like to open her own store some day) helps out after school and on weekends. Sometimes she even goes shopping at market with mom. Dudziec is clearly delighted with the success that monogrammed products have garnered. She points out a saying she came across while doing research for her store: A good name is more desirable than great riches. The saying, Dudziec says, speaks volumes about how people feel about names.

Monogram Muse’s biggest success has been store branding. “Being an art director, I created a logo, brand, and visual identity for the store that is consistent throughout all ads, signage, packaging,” Dudziec says adding that the professional graphics and quality of all marketing materials lead many customers to ask her if the store was a franchise. “It created a [feeling] among first customers that they were visiting/shopping in an already established retail business,” she says.

Dudziec’s biggest joys have been in having satisfied gift recipients visit and become customers in their own right. Dudziec recounts a time when a customer received a monogrammed linen, pink scalloped-edge bib for her newborn daughter. “I was told it hung at the entrance of her home for months for guests to see. I’m not sure if it was ever worn by her daughter,” Dudziec says.

“Knowing that a gift given from my store actually put a smile on someone’s face, for that moment, changes the definition of work,” she adds.

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