Hello and welcome! I am so glad you are here! My name is Andrea and I am the owner of Hide & Chic Shop.
In the summer of 2016, I traveled to Mexico with my parents. I had been searching for the perfect tooled leather bag for about three years and had not been able to find exactly what I wanted. At least not until that moment when I walked into a small Mexican boutique and I saw them: the most beautiful, brightly colored, hand-tooled leather bags I had ever seen! The quality, the colors, and the sheer number of different styles left me speechless. I could not have imagined that these gorgeous bags even existed, but there they were, staring at me and beckoning me to take them home.
As soon as I started carrying my bags, I began receiving compliments on them left and right. It was obvious I wasn't the only one who loved them, and I knew in that moment that I had to make them available to others. That’s how my business - and my obsession - started.
I appreciate your support more than you can imagine. On Friday, August 13, 2021, I unexpectedly got laid off from my job of 13 years. To say I was shocked and taken by surprise is an understatement. But what a blessing it has turned out to be. Losing my job provided me with the opportunity to turn my "side business" into my full time job. Was I scared? Yes. Beyond scared. Was I excited about the opportunity given to me by an unfortunate situation that was out of my control? Yes. Absolutely! Would I have ever voluntarily quit my job to turn Hide and Chic Shop into my full time job? Probably not. That would have been too scary. I liked the security of receiving a paycheck every two weeks. Am I happier now than I have ever been? Without a doubt, YES! At this point in my life, I'm not concerned with trying to climb the corporate ladder. Working hard for myself instead of someone else, making my own schedule, being able to participate in events without having to ask permission for time off, has been so freeing and liberating. Getting laid off forced me to pivot and make the most dramatic change I have ever had to make thus far in my life. Little did I know that six years ago when I started Hide and Chic Shop as a fun side business that it would become my full time job and my sole source of income.
Hide & Chic Shop is a woman-owned store based out of Houston, Texas. If you are in the Houston area, you can find me and my products at The Hive Pop Up Collective in Rice Village. It's a boutique made up of 14 women owned small businesses: all friends, all supportive of each other and our brands, all made the decision to open the boutique together to pursue our dream of entrepreneurship. Visit us at 2431 Rice Blvd. Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-6pm.
My hope is that your Hide and Chic Shop bag brings you as much joy and happiness (and as many compliments) as mine have brought and continue to bring me.
Please stop by often to see what new styles and colors have arrived!
Thank you so much for your support!
Andrea
*Photography by Tracy Feldman Photography
*Logo design by Cameron Hoffman
*Editing by Stacy Peteet Barry
*Business name developed by the creative team of Stan and Fran
*Shipping and Receiving Department managed by Larry and Espie Rivera