Laura Vinroot Poole

Charlotte is a hub for so many companies:  NASCAR, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo [to name a few]. The executives of these companies and their wives are attending events with world leaders in Davos or Paris, yet historically it was challenging for them to shop here. People had to travel to Charleston, Atlanta, or New York to shop!

Charlotte has only continued to evolve since we opened 21 years ago, and we work diligently to grow with our city and our clients.  I’m very proud of Charlotte and defensive of the South — I want the women from Charlotte to be beautifully dressed as they go out into the world.

I think Southerners have a different understanding of generosity.   The whole “turning out” for events is not about you, it’s about the hostess, and the sentiment that it is polite to dress as the hostess would want you to dress.  I think this is unique to Charlotte, and the greater South, versus other parts of the country.

I always told my mother that I wanted to have the job of Letitia Baldridge. She was an etiquette expert and social secretary for Jacqueline Kennedy.  

In a weird way, that is a big part of my job now. Retail will train you pretty quickly how to handle yourself gracefully in difficult and unexpected situations. We also have developed an internship program that we started because the young women who applied to work here seemed so unprepared to handle simple things like writing a proper thank-you note or a professional email. Mentoring these young women to be prepared for their professional lives is a rewarding part of what we do behind the scenes.

Tonne Goodman was here recently and shared an idea I loved so much.  She said to “trust mistakes.”  I thought that was so insightful; I make mistakes all day, every day.  It was helpful to be reminded that mistakes can lead you closer to the right answers.

The crisis was catastrophic and almost the end of our business.  But, it was also the best thing that ever happened to me.  I had been very successful for the first ten years of my business, but I don’t know that I could pinpoint exactly why. The recession helped us to focus on three things we knew no one could compete with – our customer service, our edit, and our physical space and those are the things that we have successfully focused on since 2008.

Online shopping has really become a force since I first opened Capitol.  And while we love to release our exclusive capsule collections through our digital storefront, I’m still committed to creating an even more exceptional brick-and-mortar experience. I want to work with a lovely sales associate, try things on in-person, or meet a designer I love – I think our clients feel the same way.

Managing people and motivating young women to believe that they can be career-driven and family-oriented at the same time. I don’t know that Southern girls are raised to believe that and it has been a real calling for me to change that mindset.

My husband [who is an architect] designs all of our spaces.  I think Perry and I really gave the same attention to the store that we would to our home.  We did that by pulling pieces from our own personal collection (furniture, tables, chairs) and by paying attention to the details.

In Charlotte, we have a vertical garden by Patrick Blanc.  We were the first to privately commission him as most of his work is in museums. There are 100 different varieties of plants and different blooms every single day…I could stare at it for hours and still find new things.

There are two things that drew me to Brentwood. First, I’ve been shipping to women in Los Angeles my whole career. My second largest client base is in Los Angeles – it has more in common with Charlotte than you would think.  Both cities have natural vibrancy and beauty, and the women have the personality to match.  Capitol women are not afraid of color and prints, and I think LA women have a very feminine style, which is similar to the South.

Secondly, I have been shopping at the Brentwood Country Mart for 20 years; I think it’s the best shopping center in America.  It has the original post office and the barber shop from when it opened in the 1940s. The owner of the Mart, Jim Rosenfield, came to Charlotte to visit our stores and we truly connected on how much we believe in the value of beautiful and personal retail experiences.

Arrested Development!  I have a lot of things from my childhood and boarding school experience that I adore, like Swedish clogs and men’s banker-striped shirts.  Those are everyday staples for me.  And on the opposite end of the spectrum, evening is unabashedly feminine and over the top!

I love Irene Neuwirth’s turquoise candy beaded necklaces, and beautiful liberty print ruffled tops and dresses by Horror Vacui, an emerging young German designer. I also love our exclusive Mi Golondrina flutter sleeve maxi dress and plan to wear it all summer:)

I think that Cristina’s respect of craftsmanship and craftsmen/craftswomen has always resonated with me, and of course, the look of the pieces - the embroidery and the colors are exceptional!  Most importantly, I think my clients have always loved special things from far away that come with a story and are exquisitely made, and Mi Golondrina is all of those things.

I wake up early and get my daughter, Fifi, to school.  Then I’ll walk or do yoga and head into the office.  Because my travel schedule is so intense, when I’m in Charlotte I try to be home when she’s home.

 I love to cook.  Every Saturday, I go to the farmer’s market right when it opens so I have the first look at whatever was freshly picked that week. I feel the creative remnants of my degree in art have been nurtured through cooking…I love the satisfaction of completing a beautiful and (hopefully) delicious project in an hour.

Doing nothing! I am so busy during the week that I love to spend Friday night at home.

Balance is a myth.  You just do the best you can every day.