Christmas Shop with Me | Exclusive Holiday Decor Collection

Hello and welcome back to my channel. I'm Rebecca Ropes and oh my gosh, has this been an amazing year of Christmas decorations? All the videos we've brought to you thus far, nearly every room in my house has been displayed for you. And today I'm bringing you actually into the Amber Marie and Company store in Utica Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tomorrow night is their open house. So I asked them, guys, you know, when I started this, I got to merchandise it myself. I got to curate everything that's in my section. It's a huge section. It was such a big dream for me to be able to do something like that. And I said, I think it's going to take me about four days to do it. It took me 12. So I'm going to show you all of that. I'm going to take you through the store and show you some of the things that Amber and Jerry bought, things I didn't even see that I think are absolutely spectacular. And I just give you a flavor, a taste of what the store is actually like. I'm Amber. I'm Marie. That's it. That's right. And their dog, Winston. Look at this. They have this cute, what's he called? Scotty. He's a Scotty dog. I should have known that. My dream was to have an actual section. Do you know how difficult that is to do in a store like this? I mean, they already have everything planned. So for them to give up such a large percentage of floor space to me was huge. I'm kind of shocked that they were willing to do that. It's an honor, really. You guys getting my shelves all empty for me? Yes, we are. Good. We don't sit around looking all dolled up. Most of the time you should see us, I come in and each day my hat gets lower and my jeans get lower. Everything gets lower. And we work together. That's been the thing that's really shocked me in this whole thing. I mean, I know you're hard workers, but I shared with my audience that it's always kind of been a dream to own my own retail store. And I can tell you right now, I have no intention of ever owning a retail store. It's hard. It is so hard. It's a hard work. It really is. It is. And I don't think our audience has any idea what you guys do, how hard you work. And I also don't think they realize that most everything you see in the store, you two have decorated yourself. You don't hire professionals in. Right. So it's unusual. We've touched, that's actually what we were just talking about last night. We have touched every single product. Almost everything has been put on the shelf by us, whether we put one and then give direction to our staff to put the rest on there. And everything has been bought by us. You know, we've picked it out individually. Every single little thing in this store has been purchased by us. I would say we probably have 50,000 individual SKUs, but like the quantity on that, I don't know, who knows. I don't even want to think about it. It'll keep me up tonight. Right. The best part, I didn't stop to think about how hard it is. You know, you're going to market. In my mind, I'm like, to own a store, you could go to market and you could go, oh, I like that. And I like that. And then they say, how many do you want? And I'm like, oh, I don't know. Like, how do you make an educated guess on the quantity to order of something? How do you know when something's going to be a ringer? Sometimes we argue about that. Oh, yeah. Do you? Oh, sometimes. Everybody all my life has said, oh, that's so much fun. I wish I could go and all that. They don't really understand. It's hard work. Well, it's fun because it's inspiring. Yeah. I was going to say, it's hard work because we're there from early in the morning and we close the place down at night. I mean, we're the last ones to leave every time. But we do get inspired. That's why we go because a lot of a lot of retailers don't go. They just pick it from a catalog. And I just don't know how they can do that. What made you decide to take a chance on me? Well, I honestly we didn't have any idea what to expect. But every step of the way in our business, God has directed our path and he has opened every door for us. So we always say when God opens a window of opportunity, don't pull down the shades. Right. So it was a window of opportunity that we were going to explore this journey together. Really. Yeah. Well, really, we did feel after we met and we talked, we felt like there was a connection and we felt comfortable with you. We felt like we could trust you, you know, because that's a big part of this. Oh, yeah. Huge. Trust is very big. And then it seemed like God had laid the groundwork for this meeting. Everything that we needed, we had gotten into place that year. And then you walked in the door and we said, OK, God has opened that door and we're going to go through it. Yep. Our struggle is, is trying to provide for your clients, your followers, your fans that are out of the country, too. So I mean, that is seriously, that's been a thing this year. So I had announced early on that you guys would ship anywhere in the world. I just I guess I assumed that. And because and but what I said was, if you're willing to pay for the shipping, they'll ship it to you. They're willing to do that. But then we found out we kept getting like comments that, hey, why aren't you shipping to Canada or Australia? So I came back to them. And what was your answer to that? Well, so we've had roadblocks like we've been talking to different people that will help us put those procedures in place. But ultimately, what we decided is, is we need a different platform, a different system. And we're going to be rolling that out in January. So hopefully with that different platform, with that different system, about the website. Yes. OK. Because website. Oh, I mean, I can't even. Do you have any idea that what every three days I roll out a brand new Christmas video? Do you mean, do you know or understand that that means their website is on a constant changing and updating because we're updating the things as the videos go up and you work on it constantly, constantly, and then it and you switch it back? Well, you know, what's a challenge is, is our provider will say it's a known bug. And we're like, well, if you know about it, fix it. Because we just spent hours. Zap that bug. Yes. We just spent hours fixing this. And now three days later, you guys do an update and it all scrambles again. So we've got some footage of when I came the very first day and Peter came to help me set up this area here. Which by the way, this is a big deal for you guys to give me this much space. Were you nervous? Oh, absolutely. But it's a beautiful transformation. What do you mean? Oh, absolutely. You were nervous? Well, yes, we were nervous. Of course. That's the first time I've heard of it. We're always, anytime you do anything, a brand new adventure, a brand new journey, you are nervous about how it's all going to work, how you're going to do it, how it's going to play out. You know? So you never know what to expect. And we've been working here until wee hours in the morning and they're here also working. Because you get most of your work done when the store is closed. Right. So we're working until two and three in the morning. These guys are the hardest workers I've ever seen. It was five this morning. Five? Yeah. I will say that the customers have responded. They love to come back here and stand and look. They love it. Do they? Yeah, they really do. I've been very, very pleased with the reaction of our customers. Yeah. They love coming back here. Good. So you did great. When you go to market, do you already know what your trees are going to be for next year? Or do you let market speak to you? So generally, we get inspired at market. You know, we'll see, you know, different trees and different collections and different showrooms. And then they kind of morph into our own. Yeah. And we have an idea and we think, oh, last year people loved the green and gold tree. And so we think, do we want to bring that theme back in? But then turn it around a little, add something different to it. Right. So, yeah, we kind of have a little idea. But then we go there and we get really inspired. And then we bring collect the whole collection from a lot of different showrooms, not just one. I always say, can't we just go in and buy the whole thing? But we can't. We can't do it. It's not a curated collection. No. It's cookie cutter. And they're going to see it down the road somewhere. If you're in a big city here, you'd have to go way down the road to see even the actual collection, the way it started. But, yeah, I think you have really great taste. You do such a good job. Thank you. And I love the fact that your store has so many different aspects to it. I mean, you have the best barbecue sauce in the middle of the country. I can tell you that. Are you always amazed at what fun, interesting stuff is out there? Well, we've got a lot of experience in buying, I'll say that, from, you know, I've been doing this a long time. Thank you for bringing that up because I want to know how long you've been in retail. Me? A long time. Well, I started working for my dad when I was 12. He had a store. Oh, that's great. And then I took Amber to market with me the first time when she was 12. She was in a partnership with her sister and they had a store together for 26 years? Somewhere in there. Yeah. It was a beautiful, gorgeous store out in Southwest Kansas. They kind of both retired. They sold their business. And then when I told mom I want to start this, you know, she thought I was absolutely crazy. She's like, don't you know how much work that was like? Come on, mom. It'll be so much fun. That's like every small business owner, every person who starts their own business. Come on, it'll be so much fun. That's what I said when I went in. Everybody starts there. And there are many moments that are fun. Yes. Many, many. I mean, we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't love it. Exactly. We loved it. But the truth of the matter is no one in their right mind has any idea what goes into it. Even things like, you know, I need the hooks to go, you know, you've got your father here constantly putting up these grids and the hooks and display things. These display things. I mean, those don't just show up. Behind this camera here are the catacombs. Yeah. Can you believe that? But that's not all. Right, Peter? No. Were you blown away? I was. OK. I thought this was their warehouse at first. No. The warehouse is a completely different facility. This they brought in for me to decorate because this is all of the stuff I ordered. And all of this, the picks and the sprays. So there's all of that. But this is what is so stinking incredible. This room has more Christmas stuff and merchandise than you can absolutely imagine. All of that has been brought out and is now on this floor. You can actually walk back there now. Kind of. What says Christmas but nutcrackers, right? They're announcing it's Christmas. So you walk in, there's nutcrackers and that's always a huge collection for us. All for nutcrackers. Do you know that the white nutcrackers are the first nutcrackers I've ever owned in my entire life? So when you say that nothing speaks Christmas like nutcrackers, I'm embarrassed. I'm like Mrs. Christmas and I've not had a nutcracker until 2024. You are bringing some of the most beautiful things that are even on the market today to this city, allowing all of these people to have gorgeous homes for Christmas. And I want to thank you for bringing it to my audience, giving them the opportunity to have things they would never have otherwise. I love when an order comes in of yours, I love, I always look and say, well where is that from? What city is that from? You know? I really enjoy the diversity and knowing who's buying it in Florida or California, New York. I love watching that to see, oh look, there's Georgia again. And you know, I grew up in a town of a thousand people. That's it. So our shopping options were limited. So we understand. That's putting it mildly. We understand the people who live in the rural communities that maybe online is their go-to place to be able to get beautiful decor. And so we understand the quality. We understand that more than probably anybody because we remember the times where we couldn't get those things because we lived there before the internet. Oh my gosh. I have the student catalog. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. That's taken us all the way back. You know what guys? I think the bottom line is not only thank you for being here tonight and letting my friends, my audience get to know a little bit more about you and really the heart and soul behind the company and why I love you guys so much, but just, I want to thank you. And I just want to say this is fun. I mean, you guys ready to do it all over again in January? That's what we do. I know. How in the world did we get on this tight, this tight rope? What's it called? Marigold round. No, it's the... Kaleidoscope. No, it's the thing when you're on the... When you're at work and you're... Carousel. No. Oh, turntable. No, on the... What is it? Revolving door. It's no... We have the entire back wall of the store. The store is very colorful. Can I interest you in a Santa or a snowman? Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, snowman, snowman, snowman, snowman. They even have Santa art, okay? You dream it up, you think of something fabulous, and I think pretty much Amber Marie has it. You have light up angel wings? Yeah, it's huge. Where? It's going to end up going in our garland up there. Okay, I'm annoyed. This next time when we go to market, we are going to actually shop together and you're going to show me all of your cool places to go because I am missing stuff. So all of that leads to this white space in the back. What is this wall about? It's about symmetry. Yeah. You have a first impression. We started off by... I wanted to paint the back wall black, actually, because I love that contrast of the white and the black. You know what I did? I got on Amazon and ordered some curtains that were like 20 bucks and we stapled them to the wall, instant black wall, and we can take it down after Christmas. So here's your first impression, right straight in the middle, my gorgeous Christmas tree. What I did was I recreated my own Christmas from my home here in the store. I used all the same ribbons, all the same balls and ornaments, the picks and sprays, even this leaf with all of the gorgeous rhinestones on every single leaf of that twig. All of these things are reminiscent as to what I did on my same tree in my home. But the best part is, and especially from the front door, what do you see? Oh, diamond sky. So this has both the diamond lights that are twinkling and the cascading lights, perfect for a retail space. I just think this thing turned out, just like it did in my sunroom, absolutely magical. Come over here and you'll see, look, these are all... And here's what I learned, you guys. I literally sat here and put these pegs in the wall. I'm not used to, like, hanging the pegs and putting each individual ball on here. The skates, these ones that look like a argyle sweater, of course, the gorgeous pine cones in different shapes and sizes, but they start big on the bottom and they get a little smaller as they go up. It was really fun to actually do that. These are all of the clear crystals and icicles. These are the finials that I used in my guest bedroom. If you've seen that video, I think these are gorgeous and they're iridescent. By working in the store, people would come in here and they would boo and awe. And one lady said to me, those lights that, like, they're coming down, I said, yeah, they're really amazing. They're cascade lights. She said, I have a place I could do that. She goes, how many do I need to buy to get this look? And I said, well, in this ceiling, I have seven of them. And she's like, whoa. Well, she ended up buying six of them. She bought six sets, but that was the best news. I could actually tell her what she needed. There is a lot in the diamond sky, okay? These are all...because there's so many different types of icicles and crystals and the lights. I wrote on here everything, every item that was used, including the flocking, to flock your original twigs that you...actual natural twigs that you put up. But I also wrote the quantity of what it takes. I wrote it as what I did on this ceiling. And then I wrote on here, just make a note that you'll have to figure, you either have to increase or decrease based on the shape of your room, the size that you intend to do this. But I think this is going to be super helpful. What happens after that? When you've got this whole section done and you've done these two things, come over here. It's time for a fur, baby. And you guys probably remember these, but I actually show them photos of how they look when you wear them, how to pair them, so people can get ideas and make them want to try them on. Some of the earrings, you know the gold earrings that I have worn a lot? Those have sold out. They're trying to get more. So good on you guys. You liked those. I just love this jacket. This is such a fun jacket, and this is one of the ones that I modeled, but here's what I did. I put a belt around it. Let's see if I can get this guy off here. I'm not very tall. Thank you, videographer. So this is that amazing purse. It's a crossbody bag that I think is like to die for. When I showed it to Jerry and Amber, they loved it so much. They bought it in every color that they offer. So they had the silver, the gunmetal, the gold. I put this coat on here, and it, you know, it just looked, it didn't look very flattery because it's not on a person. You need it to be on a person. So I came in, and I took this, and I'm like, well, you know what, we'll just make this into a belt. Let's say I just wanted to have something really fabulous for the holidays, and it stays. It doesn't, you know, if this was actually real chain, I think it would slip. That actually stays. That is actually, you guys, I think this is cute. Does this look cute? It has been so much fun for me to be able to do this and to kind of create an oasis, a white oasis, so to speak. I hope, my prayer is that these videos have been so helpful for you to not only give you ideas but give you sources. I can tell you, I feel so fortunate that Tulsa has a store like this. I mean, this is the only store in Tulsa like this that sells high-end, gorgeous quality stuff like I used to be able to get in my hometown in San Diego and in Los Angeles. So I hope this has been as much of a pleasure for you as it has been for me to be able to offer it and to kind of see my little, I don't know, my little own my own store kind of dream come true. I'd say all in all, this has been a really great experience for me. It's something new. It's something I've always wanted to do. Thanks for letting me share it with you. A special thanks to Jerry and Amber and for being on with us tonight. I hope if you get a chance, you can come by the store and check it out. If not, there's still things available online because I know that if my calculations are right, you guys are probably going to start your Christmas decorating right about now. And now is when you need those things to make your dreams come true. I hope that there are things you saw that weren't even in my collection that Amber and Jerry bought that really tickle your fancy because there's a lot that I saw that I loved. All right, you guys, I love you. It means so much to me that you guys tune in every year faithfully and watch them. And my most sincere blessings and love are being sent to you right now as you enter into the most joyous and most magical time of the year. And that is Christmas. All right, you guys, I will see you next time. Merry, Merry Christmas. If you went to church, you get a church. If you became the king of England, you get this. Or if you won at the horse races. This is your favorite right here, the crockpot. That's hilarious. Where's the menu? I need one that's a menu. Oh, Chinese takeout. Perfect.