Our Story

Boujie Emporium is a department store influenced by pop culture, technology, interior design, various aesthetics, and anything eye-catching. We're dedicated to delivering the most sought-after styles, inspired by streetwear looks, modern-day and historical muses, and runway trends. We believe everyone deserves access to affordable luxury items, regardless of their budget. Hey, when you look good you feel good right?

Our story begins on June 29, 2020, when I got approved for my LLC and realized the responsibility was now entirely mine. Though I received some help with the application process, paying the $250 fee myself sparked a significant change in me. Having just turned 18 a few months earlier, I knew it was time to start building the future I envisioned.

I chose the name Boujie Emporium from a long list of options because I wanted to offer a variety of items at affordable prices while maintaining a luxurious, boujie feel. Creating a shopping experience that balances affordability and luxury is a core mission of my brand, and that will never change because I love a good sale. These values are important to me when I shop for myself, and I want to bring the same to my customers.

Over the years, my appreciation for shopping has only grown when I truly didn’t think it could the way I’ve loved shopping my whole life. I now constantly consider how I can implement new ideas into my business or differentiate it from others. It's 2024 now, and I've gained a wealth of knowledge on how to run a business effectively. I've explored various business models, some of which I enjoyed and hope to pursue further, but retail is where my true passion lies. It’s one of the few ventures that feels the least like work to me.

With my four-year anniversary just passing two months ago, I was disappointed that I couldn't launch my website in time. However, I believe everything happens for a reason. This setback has motivated me to dedicate more time to my business, aiming for my first sale and to finally put myself out there and not being scared anymore what people would think if every detail about my website isn’t perfect yet.

So if anything I hope my journey inspires you to pursue you to do whatever it is your passionate about whatever goal you can’t stop thinking about just do it already START you got this. It might not happen overnight, but with consistent effort, you're bound to see results.

Heyy boo! Thank you for visiting my store. I really appreciate you being here and your support means more to me than you could ever know. I’m Michaela, the founder of Boujie Emporium. My journey into e-commerce began long before I launched this business. It started with my love for shopping. My mom was always a shopaholic, so I was always brought along to the shopping trips. She would spend hours in stores, especially if she had a coupon. I enjoyed every bit of it because she always let me get something too.

Of course, there were stores where I couldn’t get much besides accessories because I was too young for the clothes. But even in those stores, I had fun looking around until I had seen everything I could possibly get and admired the mannequins and, of course, talked the sales associates ears off then I was ready to go. I truly believe that spending countless hours in every clothing store, shoe store, makeup store, department store, dollar store, and grocery store you could think of made me into the person I am today, a shopaholic. 

Even my dad has always been into fashion, even though some guys really couldn’t care less. My whole life, I’ve known him to always have a fresh pair of Tims waiting for winter and a fresh pair of 1s for summer. Don’t get me started on his hat collection—every color, every team, and a new navy blue Yankees hat for every season. He has basically every pair of Jordans you can think of, which has always been something I really appreciate because the impact Jordan has had on the world is undeniable.

My grandmother has always been the person to “get real sharp,” as she would say it, for wherever she’s going, and the weather won’t stop her either. If it’s cold outside, she’s still going to wear her new vest; she dresses according to what she wants to wear, not the weather. I’ve always been the same way. At a certain point, my parents just threw their hands up and let me start dressing myself because it was a hassle to always hear, “No, I don’t want to wear that,” and “I don’t want to wear that either.”

I have a distinct memory of when my grandmother took me on a shopping spree and let me get everything I wanted. We spent hours in that store while I scoured through all the racks, and she just patiently waited for me as I cherished the whole experience. That experience will forever mean the world me to, literally get every single item I wanted was the best feeling.  I genuinely love the whole shopping experience—from the music playing while you walk around in each store, to the pretty drink you can carry around and sip on while shopping, all while admiring the store layouts and the interior décor carefully selected to fit the store’s aesthetic. Then, of course, once you get home with all your bags, giving yourself a mini haul as if you’re seeing all the things for the first time again. All of these experiences, plus many more, have fueled my passion for retail.

Growing up, I was always fascinated by anything eye-catching. Whether it was flipping through fashion, pop culture, or interior design magazines and admiring the smallest details, or watching TV, movies, YouTube, and playing online games, there was always something cute or eye-appealing that drew me in. I would spend countless hours online shopping, only to buy nothing just filling up my cart with things I knew I probably wasn’t going to get because I certainly wasn’t looking at the prices.

I genuinely enjoyed organizing all the cute things into one place, which is reflected in my brand mission. I want people to come to my website and feel like all the cute things are already in one place, without having to search high and low, and at reasonable prices.

Starting this business has been an exciting and VERY challenging journey at times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is my passion, and the support from the people around me has been invaluable. They have contributed so much to helping me navigate through this process when I needed it most which will forever mean the world to me. They’ve given me ideas and inspired me to dream bigger about things I didn’t even think were possible for someone like me to accomplish. I really don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t started this business. It was something positive I could fully obsess over and pour my heart into during one of the very dark times of my life. Having my business to focus on and dedicate hours to honestly saved me. I find new ways every day to let my business help in my day-to-day life, even down to the trends I draw inspiration from. That’s really one the only times I really try to allow myself to live in the past and admire it. How different styles were or even in the future yes I like to stay present in the moment in real life as much as possible but allowing myself to dream about future ideas or trends to incorporate into my brand brings me so much joy. 

I read a quote one day and I knew it was going to be the quote surrounding my business: “God can turn around any situation.” I wholeheartedly believe that. My business has helped me get out of my head when I needed it most. I have so many plans for my business that it would take hours to go through all of them. I’m just happy that I can finally make my younger self proud. My grandmother always tells me how, when I was a little girl, I wanted to be a million and one things when I grew up—a doctor, fashion designer, chef, model—literally anything I was interested in honestly. Finally pursuing those dreams makes me so hopeful for my future.

Thank you again for taking the time to visit my website and reading this. I hope you have the best day ever, babe!💋