Lewes clothier Twila Farrell has put her heart into her business
When Twila Farrell strolled down Second Street in Lewes for the first time in 1989, it was love at first sight. She loved its quant shops and its tasteful restaurants. But what stopped her in her tracks was the National 5&10 variety store. She couldn’t believe they still existed. “It was perfect,” she said of Lewes. “All I could see was Lewes’ charm. I was head over heels in love with the town.”
Farrell, who grew up in a small town in Oklahoma and was living in Media, Pa., a small town outside of Philadelphia, owned a clothing store and several rental properties in Media. Next thing she knew, she had rented a house for the season on Pilottown Road. She planned to spend the summer in Lewes but was not the type to spend it sitting on the beach. So she rented a 400-square-foot space in the Rodney Hotel where she sold jewelry and clothing. “I’m the type of person who needs to keep busy,” she said.
She split her time between Media and Lewes for a few more years but pined to move to Lewes full time. In 1993, she moved to her current location at 122 Second St., ironically the former location of the 5&10. In 2000 she sold her businesses in Media and moved to Lewes full time. The love affair grew.
Twila’s concept
Farrell enjoys operating her store but admits that her real love is developing a store’s concept. “Our concept here is to be the best, to have a beautiful store with quality merchandise,” she explained. “Our goal is to have a place the customer enjoys returning to. I want them to say with pride that they bought their clothing at Twila Farrell’s. I believe in having good lines of clothing and shoes. If you have good-quality clothes, they will last longer. They are an investment, not a fad.”
She describes her Lewes location as casual and seashore-ish, with wearable art and one-of-a-kind clothing. Her brands include Art of Cloth, Alberto Makali, Lee Anderson, Nomadic Traders, Soft Works, Janska LLC, Color Me Cotton, Conrad C and Niche. She also sells two lines of shoes, Pikolonis shoes and Naot shoes, an Israeli walking shoe.
Her customers come from D.C., Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, and especially former Media customers. “We have two ladies who come down from Media twice a year to buy. They schedule appointments and practically buy us out. It’s a whirlwind. A local banker told me that we were the anchor store for Lewes, and I took that as a compliment.”
That banker, Jim Yacone, a manager at the Lewes Citizens Bank branch, says Farrell’s secret is her relationship with her customers. “Besides being one of the loveliest people in town, Twila does business the old-fashioned way - by building strong relationships with her customers. Because of this, they return year after year. That is the real value of her business.”
Her longtime friend and customer Theda Blackwelder says, “The two keys to her success are that she knows her customers, and she only sells quality merchandise.”
Small-town girl
Growing up in rural Oklahoma, if Farrell wanted a new outfit, she had to make it herself. “I was about 9 and had an old sewing machine when I started to make my own clothes. I bought the materials and patterns. It’s probably where I developed my sense of style,” she said. Later, after getting married, she moved to Pennsylvania when her husband was transferred with Boeing Aircraft. She worked as a secretary at several companies before buying a building in Media and making it into a mini-mall. When she offered to buy the building next door, the owner wouldn’t sell unless she also bought the clothing store that was already there.
So she went to the store’s sales staff and asked them to stay if she bought the building. “The lady was about 70 and she said OK. But I told her she had to teach me the clothing business - which luckily she agreed to do. She took me to the 'rag district' in New York and walked me around showrooms for clothing lines. By the time we got back to the train station my head was spinning. I realized how much trouble I was in. I didn’t know anything about retail. But I was about to learn.”
“I always had good taste in clothes, but had no idea how to buy them. I discovered that you needed to buy clothes at the right time, many months before the season started. I learned retail the hard way.”
Life philosophy
Farrell’s philosophy on life is simple - enjoy it. “I love to dance. I love music, especially the blues and New Orleans jazz. I love symphony music. I love movies. ("The Notebook" with James Garner is probably her favorite.) I believe everyone needs someone to love; they need to laugh, eat chocolate, drink wine and read good books.”
And she also realizes that many people are responsible for her business success, especially her employees, her customers and her daughter-in-law Sandy. “I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. She does all the buying now. She handles the sizing, which is very important in retail. And she’s an excellent planner and good with the numbers. The one thing I never enjoyed was the business end - the planning and accounting. Luckily my daughter-in-law is perfect at that, and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“After so many years, you get to know your customers and keep them in mind when you’re buying,” said Sandy Farrell.
And without the burden of handling the day-to-day details, Twila Farrell can concentrate on what she enjoys most: customer interaction. “You have to give friendly, personalized service. You want to make the customer’s experience so pleasing that they will return again and again. Good clothes are an investment. They last for a long time.”
Life in Rotary
When she’s not working, Farrell is an active Rotarian. She joined in 1988 in Media, and when she moved to Lewes full time she transferred to the Lewes Rehoboth Club. “I’ve always been proud to be a Rotarian,” said Farrell. “They‘re a service organization that does good things for anyone in the community who needs help.” She is currently developing a plan to help raise polio awareness. “We’re planning to have activities downtown this year to help raise awareness,” she said.
Her other passion is mentoring young women entrepreneurs. “My mother was a single mom, and I don’t remember anyone helping her in her life. I decided to change that once I developed some business experience, and I’ve been sharing it with other women who are starting out in business.”
Although Farrell still sees Lewes as a quaint seashore town with all its charm and appeal, she admits that an expanding population and development have changed the town in subtle ways. “Lewes used to have more of a small-town feel with fewer rules,” she said. “It was less upscale. You could walk down the street or walk your dog on the beach and know everyone you passed. There are so many new people now. It’s not bad, only different.”
She is also concerned that many of the shopkeepers and restaurant owners who are open year-round are being impacted by businesses that cut their hours in the off-season or close completely. “People come into Lewes to shop and eat - period. If stores aren’t open on a regular basis, the people stop coming in. That makes it hard on the businesses that are open year-round. If all businesses would only open part-time during the off season, they would make it easier for everyone,” said Farrell, who’s open seven days a week. “That’s not just me talking. I hear the same thing from many other businesses that are open year-round.”
Twila Farrell is located on 2nd St. in downtown Lewes. Their phone number is 302-645-7007. For more information go to www.twilafarrell.com.
