The Best of Intima Awards - PAST AND FUTURE

EUROPEAN FLAIR WINNER
LIA LUSH INTIMATE APPAREL
Set in the quaint town of Coeur d’Alene, in North Idaho, Lia Lush Intimate Apparel is an elegant upscale boutique, the cocooning layout dotted with inspirational quotes, inviting every woman to find and live her own true and personal beauty, both inside and outside. When Lindsay, with a background in corporate finance as well as six years as a jewelry stylist, and Dani, a boudoir photographer met, it was clear to both that they were destined to carry out a project together.  Lindsay and Danielle are two wonderful women full of passion and determination, so in the face of these complex times it was evident that LIA Lush was going to find the strategy to continue providing its awesome service to the community.  Danielle: “You have to be adaptable, to take things as they come, as everything is changing.  “That inevitably means moving nimbly between setting up a new website, organizing virtual fittings and networking with the community.  “You just need be able to adapt to the constant changes. Be ready to put in the work and get it done.” Lindsay has more precious advice: “Stay true to the reason that you opened in the first place. We all did this for a specific, very heartfelt reason. So just keeping your integrity and keeping your heart in it. What your customers see is how passionate you are. And how much you love just to help them, no matter the circumstances”. And an award come always come in handy in promoting your business . ”We definitely shared the news of the award and we received a ton of wonderful feedback. We have an amazing community here in Coeur d’Alene where it’s mostly small businesses. We’ve become such a close family and everyone was just proud of us as if they were family. It was really wonderful for us to be able to share, we even received flowers from a fellow business owner. It was more like a family celebration than a business promotion which made it even more special.”
This victory came as something totally unexpected to Danielle and Lindsay and it seems the digital edition worked perfectly for them.  “The event was absolutely amazing, we were actually so fortunate that it happened to work out the way it did because we wouldn’t have been able to attend in person. So, we were so thankful that we got to be a part of it. It was really special for us”. And Danielle: “When Lindsay texted me and said ‘We won!’ I was like...’What?! Really?!’ It was so great. We feel honored because we’re so brand new and we’re beyond thankful and appreciative… we ‘re just country girls!”

PERSONAL TOUCH STORE + FAN FAVORITE
WINNER LIVI RAE LINGERIE
WHEN BRA FITTING IS A MISSION
If you have been in the intimate apparel industry even just briefly, there is no way you will not have heard of our next winners: Molly Hopkins and Cynthia Decker of Livi Rae Lingerie in Kennesaw, GA. Always bubbling with thoughts and ideas, a true explosion of energy, they are at once business savvy and incredibly creative and talking to them you honestly can’t help feeling that while they are describing one project to you they’re conjuring up another three at the same time in their minds.
Molly and Cynthia are not first time winners, and their awards (they won two this year) stand right on their counter, a testament to what really is a mission for these amazing bra-fitting ladies. Of this year’s event they say “Being able to share in the moment with other people, not just industry people really made it special.” Molly tells us that though it has been rough, being passionate about what you do is what gets you through these times and adds, “We had to rally together, we had to rely on people who have been our clients for years, we really took every skill set we had. It was like being back in the beginning of this business again and doing it all over but in a different way.” Cynthia adds, “ During this time, we are all connected, not just through social media, not just through video, but we’re all connected inside, and so during this time we have to remember that, and we have to pull together, however that may be. (and laughing ) One thing I have noticed is that our sexy sales have skyrocketed. We feel like this industry has been such a catalyst for couples, rekindling their romantic side, their passion, their love for each other, people were trying to fall into intimacy…So the nursing bra situation has to be on point now!” Having started virtual fittings way back in 2012, Cynthia and Molly have plenty of great advice for everybody and actually also do act as consultants for stores who are starting out .  “Molly and I are really willing to teach people virtual fit, and teaching people who are already in the business what our system is.” While extremely grateful to all the help the brand reps have provided, they feel that the industry should be even more united and the different parties should reach out to grow together : “We want to connect more with the designers of these bras. We need a good nursing bra that goes up to a large size, that actually really holds, that’s pretty and sexy.” As winners of the newly introduced Fan Favorite award, they are greatly appreciative of all the support they received.” We’re so thankful to our fans and every day we want to provide something that people can look forward to. We have so many people asking us for things that really they shouldn’t have to ask for . They should already be out there, we should be catering to people with special needs with sexy lingerie, because they want it. Also we’ve worked very hard to have representation of color and curvy black girls. We pushed that for years because we feel like there’s been a huge lack of an industry there. Because the world is made up of ever body size.”

BEST STORE USA WINNER
TOP DRAWER LINGERIECUSTOMER SERVICE AT ITS BEST
At the Best of Intima Awards, Dow Hickam is quite a household name. Since its first award in 2005 it has to be said that Top Drawer Lingerie has earned itself quite a collection, not only of nominations, but of prizes themselves. The precious and coveted statues are on display on the place of honor, on a top shelf just behind the counter at the 3,600 square foot boutique in Houston, with its rich display of high-end lingerie. A celebrated habitué at the event, Dow said he missed not being in New York with everyone, but he was glad the digital event was staged, and that we all were able to make the best of what we had. Due to the pandemic restrictions in place, Dow was not able to market the award as much as he would have liked to and as much as he had done in the past but he is certainly planning to do so as it has always worked out wel. “We hired a PR firm to help us with getting the word out. We got a lot of content to put on our social media.”
In previous editions Top Drawer Lingerie had been recognized as Best Reference Shop in both 2005 and 2017, so winning the award for Best US Store seemed like a great and natural step in the right direction: “It’s really been a wonderful experience winning the award. It’s been a morale builder for everyone in the store. It’s an acknowledgement of all the hard work and effort that everyone at Top Drawer puts into creating a wonderful customer experience and all of the hard work that everyone’s done.” So it can only be said that a piece of advice from Dow on how to tackle these turbulent times is gold. “Focus on customer service, that is really what is going to drive people to our boutiques… and fit expertise, that is really irreplaceable and what makes the true difference. Within just 15 minutes they know exactly what size they are, they get a perfect fit and walk out the door, that saves them a lot of time and effort. In addition, they get a little pampering which is always a welcome pleasure, especially in such a stressful environment such as we’re in.”

BEST NEWCOMER WINNER
THE CLASSY COUTURIER
A COMMUNITY SUCCESS STORY
The Classy Couturier, a spacious well-lit store in Rocky Mount’s center offering a very wide range of intimate apparel officially opened in January 2019 and already it is reaping huge success in the area. With their blossoming activity and professional customer approach, not only did they win The Best of Intima’s Newcomer Award, they also won a local award. Thinking back to that August evening when Courtney Vitale and Kelly Senglar nailed it, Courtney says: “The event was amazing , I still felt like it was a royal experience even though it was done virtually. To be a small business that’s surviving right now and to even win an award, it was elating. It was so cool to see everybody.” Obviously passionate about her job and the store, Courtney told us what she thought determined the store’s success within their community was focus and hard work: “ It’s perseverance, and it shows that when you work hard and try your hardest in the middle of unprecedented times, you can still make success. We also won a local award. So we had two awards saying ‘Hey as a new business you’re out here rocking!’” And were they able to use the award to promote their store? “Absolutely! We posted it on our social media pages, we shared the news with the community, and that got us quite a bit of attention. We communicated it through our local TV channel and they are so proud of a store this small to get so much recognition. The award is kept right next to the check out, you can’t miss it!”The Classy Couturier might be a newcomer, but Courtney certainly knows how she wants to approach the situation we are facing: “It’s not about pushing sales, it’s about reaching out to your customers and letting them know that even though times are tough right now, you just have to tell us how can we be here for you, what kind of content you want to see right now. The whole part of shopping small is that interpersonal shopping experience; you know your customers when they walk through that door and they know you and they love that. It’s important that they know that you’re still interacting on a personal level with them, and it’s not about making ends meet. They’re wanting to buy stuff off their wish list, sometimes even just to help you out, because it’s about loving that community. At our store we try to remember everybody who comes into the store. Let those customers know that you love them, that you’re not just a business on their corner, that you’re part of their community.”