Sometimes finding free time in college can be difficult, but Annika Brooks took it to the next level with her schedule. Brooks, a Jackson local and senior business administration major, recently opened a physical store for her business in downtown Jackson called “Hello Grace.”
“I feel like I’ve always had a heart for it. I really like the creative side of it and the people,” Brooks said.
She sat in the corner of her shop, looking around at the merchandise that she has to offer.
“I did want to have a website freshman year of college,” Brooks said. “I thought that the physical store would be too hard and realized I hated the website side of it and really liked the people aspect.”
Being able to connect with your customers and clients is an important part of business.
“I get to go to Union and walk the hallways and see what the people my age are wearing, which is my demographic,” Brooks said. “So, I am able to pull ideas and collaborate with other students such as Abby Coleman and Abby Porter, and it’s really good to have a community of small business owners that are my age as well.”
Abby Porter, a junior digital media communications major, described Brooks as “creative and hardworking.”
“She’s compassionate and kind. I think she is the perfect person to have a storefront because she is going to be so intentional with not only her business but also the people who buy from her. She is just so impressive to me; the fact she has been able to pull it off so well and do it so well while she’s still in school is mind-blowing to me,” Brooks said.
Brooks is an inspiration to students at Union balancing school, work and aspirations.
“I’m taking 18 hours at school, I am very involved in my church community, I am working 3 jobs (one is seasonally) and I am doing this (the shop) as well,” Brooks said.
The community around Union can help contribute to the success of businesses.
“I am actually collaborating with Makenna David soon—she was a student at Union who graduated—and I am able to communicate with other students who have different talents with me,” Brooks said.
People are coming together to help support Brooks and build up her business.
“Abby Coleman did my mural right here,” Brooks said, pointing to a mural of disco balls painted on the wall. Around them, there were different colored stars. The center read, “Be Nice To People & Wear What You Want.” Other Union students stepped in and helped Brooks’ store, and even non-Union students helped and supported her.
“A lot of these pieces have their own story, like the pennants,” Brooks said, gesturing to the red and green pennants sitting on the shelf next to her. “They are made by someone local. Emily, who lives in Lexington, she makes these on the side while she is a mother and a wife.”
There is a lot of collaboration that goes into Brooks’ store. Her products are not something you can find anywhere. A lot of energy and love is put into the “Hello Grace” store.
With Brooks being a senior, graduation is just around the corner, and she has begun making plans for post-grad life.
“Whenever I graduate, I want to do it fully; I want to be able to have a website to reach a whole entire other group of people. So hopefully to expand from this but I really like where I am at right now,” Brooks said.
Brooks plans to grow her following and the “Hello Grace” brand and with the community, she can do that.
“I feel like the purpose of my business is just to create a place for people my age who want to shop for comfortable clothing and just nice gifts to be able to participate in the Jackson community,” Brooks said. “Jackson is just a special place and especially the downtown community you always have someone to lean on.”
You could tell on Brooks’s face how thankful and blessed she felt to be a part of this community and call herself a shop owner in downtown Jackson. This town is growing, and so are the people in it.
To learn more about “Hello Grace,” follow Brooks’s Instagram @shophellograce or visit her store at 212 E. Main Street, Jackson, Tenn. 38301.
Video produced by Toby Forehand and Ethan Voss
