At Emporium@C’s, Orange Beach, Alabama, and Perdido Key, Florida, locations, every day feels like a parade — sequins, sparkle and coastal flair included.A sea of sparkle and sophisticated flair floods Emporium@C Coastal Gifts & More like a year-round holiday high tide, where Mardi Gras and college football are everyday celebrations and the clock is always set to island time. Here, gulf shores hospitality meets southern charm with a heaping side of flair.
At the helm of this treasure-filled retail destination is Owner Trisha Carlson.
“We didn’t know we needed sequins in our lives until you brought them into the store,” Carlson’s friends enthused after she purchased the store on Ono Island near Orange Beach in 2019. The original owner she purchased it from started the business about 20 years prior.
 Emporium@C is known for its collection of elevated gifts for coastal and fun occasions. Photos: Terry Mikloucich
Cue the glitter — and the growth.
Since rebranding and building out notably festive categories at the shop — amid a pandemic launch followed by Hurricane Sally in 2020 — Carlson and her team have cultivated two vivacious hubs with a vibe she describes as “coastal chic and a lot of fun.”
Regional Manager Wendy Koptis says a combination of tourists, snowbirds and locals creates a steady stream of customers who become friends. “I had someone tell me we are their go-to shop when they’re looking for any kind of happy gift,” she says.
The social media numbers alone tell a story of tapping unmet demand. “We went from 500 followers when we bought it to over 5,300 and counting today on Facebook,” points out Carlson, who didn’t allow down times to rain on her parade. “We’ve had some of the best years in the store’s history.”
 Alabama and Orange Beach home decor are a focal point at Emporium@C.
Seasons@C are serious business.
“This is what I’ve been working toward,” Carlson quips.
Ramping upCoastal retail is an encore career for Carlson, who spent 35 years in banking and investor relations before buying the business. She and her husband had a second home in Orange Beach and entertained the idea of owning a shop after retiring.
Closing the books on banking happened sooner than Carlson might have anticipated before caring for her father. “It changed my view of life, what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be,” she says.
The Carlsons spotted this shop — a perfect fit for a next chapter.
While she officially retired in 2024, the transition during COVID-19 allowed for restaging and revamping the shop and its following. Koptis had been working there for about five years before Carlson stepped in. Now she is involved all aspects of the business, from buying to merchandising, sales and staff training.
Koptis estimates the store has since tripled the amount of merchandise — and customers. “It snowballed,” she says of the energy and friendships that have formed from the shop floors. Carlson says, “The staff cares about Emporium@C as much as I do.”
While in some ways, retail is a departure from Carlson’s number-crunching vocation, in other ways it is strangely similar. “Finance is an important part of retail, and it’s second nature,” she says. “The same goes for marketing and people skills, which was all part of my job and has transitioned over to this.”
 Scents and colors of the sea are winners at Emporium@C, which offers sea-themed fragrances and drinkware.
Carlson is ingrained in the community through Mardi Gras krewes, community groups, chambers of commerce and simply connecting with visitors who stop into her shops. This has led to volunteering and giving back, such as sponsoring events.
“I want locals and tourists to know us,” she says.
A sparkling stock Carlson is focused on retail strategies that resonate, and she nails her market of shoppers looking for name-drop coastal decor ranging from map-themed wall hangings by Poor Boy to Spartina 449 bags, and giftables by Tyler Candle Co. that double as impulse buys.
Coastal, collegiate and seasonal are the top three departments, and within those are categories including apparel, drinkware, shoes, jewelry, tableware, body products and spirit gear ranging from throws suitable for displaying on a sofa to flags. Driftless Studios drinkware with “Housewives of…” themes often need to be restocked and offer an in-reach name-drop item.
“We focus on items that area souvenir shops and stores do not carry,” says Carlson, relating that there’s an aesthetic that defines Emporium@C products that could be described as upping the ante.
 Collegiate themed tote bags are the perfect accessories for trips to the Gulf Coast beaches as well as gameday fun.
“I can’t carry every school, otherwise I’d have to be a 100% collegiate store, but we try our best to carry teams our customers ask about,” Carlson says, noting that football fare is an all-the-time offering that always sells.
The same is true for Mardi Gras, and Carlson is always trendspotting to integrate pop culture references into all merchandise categories. “Last year, Taylor Swift was at a game wearing gold freckles and all of a sudden these were a thing,” she relates.
Carlson stocked stick-on glitter freckles in purple, gold and green. Adding to the mix are slides, sneakers, boots, high-tops — all with sequins — and accessories by lines like Queen of Sparkles, Glitter & Grace and Mardi Gras Creations.
Hosting sip-and-shop events for krewes to socialize and bag festive wares promotes more sales and gets the word out about what else is in store at Emporium@C.
Jewelry flies off displays fast, including Coastal Grit bracelets with mother-of-pearl inlays and keepsake tokens including a quatrefoil charm, pieces by Salty Cali and Steele Sloan Designs, and anklets and toe rings by artist Jackie Gallagher. Those range from beach girl charms to waves and starfish.
Both shops carry jewelry pieces by Dune, and the Perdido Key location recently acquired Inis fragrances and body products.
By tuning into guests’ inquiries and watching which items they gravitate toward, the Emporium@C team’s buying strategy is essentially an ongoing conversation with its shoppers, informed by a lot of idea sharing among staff members.
When Koptis greets and helps customers find just the right thing, the feeling is like a big hug or a high five. “When we sell items, I do the happy dance because the end result of finding and displaying new inventory was successful,” she relates.
For Carlson, it’s all about community, celebration and a little extra shimmer that keeps the Gulf Coast communities that Emporium@C serves shining bright all year.
Reflecting on her career shift and how she’s making a mark in the retail industry with her two Gulf Coast stores, she says with contagious enthusiasm, “Now, I shop for a living!” |
