Charleston Women-Winter 2020

www.CharlestonWomen.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.CharlestonBrides.com CW charleston women MEGAN HEWITT Megan Hewitt, founder and owner of Shrimp and Grits Kids, grew her business idea from a passion for art and a love of children’s clothes. Formerly an art teacher, Hewitt enjoyed many aspects of working with children, but found herself counting down the days to her next long break. “That was not how I wanted to live my life,” she said. “I wanted to enjoy what I was doing every single day.” So, with the support of her husband, Pitts Hewitt, she decided to move on from teaching and spend some time thinking about what inspired her and what she would enjoy doing with her time. As a resident of Old Village — where the Shrimp and Grits Kids headquarters is currently located — Hewitt would often take her daughter, Ella, on stroller rides around the neighborhood to get fresh air and take in Lowcountry sights. It was during a walk on Pitt Street Bridge when Hewitt first conceived the idea for her children’s clothing store. She saw the beautiful Charleston harbor, and pictured Lowcountry landmarks on affordable, quality clothes. At the time she hatched the vision, she was “in love with the cuteness of little girl clothing” and even sewed some of her own daughter’s clothing as a creative outlet, but looking back, she marveled how blindly she and her husband jumped right in. “I just 100% believed this was going to be a massive success, and I think that belief, that blind faith, was why we were able to pull it off,” she said. With a sketchbook in hand, she started designing. Within a week or two, she found a manufacturer, and in spring 2008, the first Shrimp and Grits Kids clothing line was launched. “I was looking for a little something different that stuck in people’s minds, and I thought of shrimp to represent the boys and grits for the well-known acronym, ‘Girls Raised in the South,’” she noted. Today, the company has a team of 125 sales representatives, 2,500 hostesses and 300 associate representatives, who market clothes at trunk shows, parties and on social media. Shrimp and Grits Kids also has a national clothing magazine and a storefront, currently located on Appling Drive but soon to be relocated to the Sea Island Shopping Center. “Visualize the dream,” is the advice Hewitt gives women out there who crave something more out of life. “Make the dream real in your mind because what we think is what we create, and what we create is our reality. It just takes that belief.” MISSY FARKOUH Missy Farkouh, co-owner and business operator of The Goatery at Kiawah River, said that watching her husband’s enthusiasm for his career made her realize her own zeal for being an accountant was no longer present. Farkouh knew the corporate world was not for her, but she also didn’t feel completely fulfilled as a homemaker, either. “I needed something outside the home — something that made me a better mom and wife,”she said. As a former military kid, Farkouh spent time volunteering with veteran causes. She worked for various nonprofit boards that provide aid to retired soldiers and education to the public. But something was still missing. Photo by Pitts Hewitt. Megan Hewitt finds inspiration biking around her Old Village home. Missy Farkouh finds joy spending time with her goats at The Goatery.