Kelley Burns is a dental hygienist, entrepreneur, and dog foster mom. She took time out of her busy schedule to talk with Grice Connect's Jeneane Brown about her journey from teeth to tween fashion.
Kelley Burns is a lady who is constantly on the go. She works as a dental hygienist during the day, runs a successful tween clothing business round the clock, and is a loving foster mom to four-legged friends who are in need of a safe home. She is married to Ryan Burns, is mom to Avery, 13, and Grayson, 10, and has a full family schedule.
Burns has been a dental hygienist for 15 years at Southern Family Dental Group. About a year and a half ago, she started Sapphire 13, a tween clothing business that has skyrocketed in popularity in the Statesboro area and online.
The physical demands of being a dental hygienist mandated physical therapy and led Burns to contemplate what would be next for her in the event that she could not continue in her current position, and Sapphire 13 was born.
Burns' own little girl was the inspiration for opening Sapphire 13, which fills a much-needed niche for moms and tweens in our community.
“My daughter was 11 at the time when I started thinking about this, and she didn't want to wear the butterflies and the rainbows and all the glitter,” Burns explains.
She committed to finding clothes to fit the trendy needs of pre-teens while keeping the items school- and age-appropriate. She also offers adult sizes from time to time. Burns continues to secure vendors that offer clothing that is contemporary and stylish, without being too young or too old. Tweens want to feel confident without being bedecked in ruffles and bows, but aren't ready yet, if ever, for the Juniors selection that includes revealing crop tops and short dresses and skirts.
“I've always loved shopping and boutiques and things and always wanted one, but retail is scary,” Burns says. “Everybody says with retail, ‘You've got to give it a few years to get your name out there.”
Her focus now is to get more of an internet reach in the coming months, and she plans to employ help to do this.
“I still work, but I did cut my hours down, so I get off by 2 every day. Now I can pick up the kids, and my goal was to work on the boutique in the evenings,” Burns says of the continual need for marketing her evolving brand. “It's just not something feasible for me to keep up with a family and all of their extracurriculars.”
Sapphire 13, which Burns runs out of the bonus room in her home, has assembled a faithful following in its short existence, and Burns has plans to ramp up marketing to take it to the next level. She is currently interviewing to find someone to fill the role of a public relations/marketing guru who would bring a breadth of knowledge to grow Sapphire 13's online presence, including social media as well as website.
“I would love to have a brick and mortar boutique,” Burns says of Sapphire 13's future. “My goal right now is to ramp up online reach so that I can ship out more across the U.S. and not just the southeast. I've started recently, just to get my name out there more, doing pop-up events. So moms can do a neighborhood party and I can bring clothes, or they are welcome to come here and just have little pop-up parties.”
In addition to being a dental hygienist and small business owner, Burns also finds time to foster dogs for Fixing the Boro.
“I do that full-time too,” Burns says. “I'm a big dog lover!”
Burns began fostering for Fixing the Boro since before its inception as a nonprofit in our community. She shared, “I started with one and then we fostered and I just continued, so we have fostered probably ten dogs. We kept two out of the ten.”
Burns believes in Fixing the Boro's mission to neuter and spay to prevent unwanted and neglected animals.
The dedicated wife and mom sums up her professional life with passion for the trifecta that, in addition to her own family, keeps her on her toes: “I love healthcare, animals, and clothes!”
For more information about Sapphire 13, please visit their Facebook page or their website.
