PC: Amy Kolodziej, Sunshower Photography, Charlotte, NC
* Note: Bean knows that the correct spelling to indicate the governing city of a state is "capital"; however, since the boutique that is tied to the interviewee is spelled "Capitol" - we decided to do a little play on words.
Life is funny. In April of 2017, Bean took over @WeLoveCLT, an Insta account that highlights the best places of Charlotte (from the takeover's perspective). In the takeover, Bean shared her love for the Poole Shop and Capitol, high-end sister boutiques located in the heart of the South Park area. While she walked around, she mentioned she wanted to work there ASAP. What's worth mentioning is that both boutiques (owned by Laura Vinroot Poole) carry clothing that is not for anyone that's remotely close to Bean's age (now 7); however, the Poole Shop in particular has become one of Bean's "happy places" and must go to's. Fast forward to May 2018, Bean asked if she could interview the owner of Capitol since she "loves it so much". Fortunately, Poole had a few minutes to spare - considering she and her staff of stylists just finished celebrating Capitol's 20th year with a private farm party (see a few pics here) that hosted guests such as Andre Leon Talley (yes, that Andre) and the women (and men) that have supported Capitol, Poole Shop, and Tabor (brother boutique) since 1998. Alongside Amy Kolodziej of Sunshower Photography, Bean sat down with Poole and was even treated to a tour of her office, which housed beautifully-framed photos of family, friends and a picture of one of Bean's favorite artists - Frida Kahlo. All of the stars aligned for this to interview to happen and just proves that dreams do come true ... even at the age of 7. ;) / P.S. You'll now notice that each interview will be called "7+ Questions" since Bean is now 7 (just a little something she thought of!). - Mom
7+ Questions with Laura Vinroot Poole (Note: All questions are created by Bean)
Do you have any siblings? Yes I do. I have a big brother (a doctor), and I have a little sister. She's a mom and has three children.
What is your favorite piece of clothing and why? My favorite piece of clothing … probably my wedding dress because I've been married 21 years and I really liked it. It was really pretty. And I got married just by myself (I eloped - which means you didn't tell anybody), and I was just with my husband, and it was just the two of us. So it was really nice and private and personal.
What is your favorite part of the store? The garden - for sure the garden. Have you ever been down to feel the garden? Do you know how the plants live? Have you ever felt the fabric that they live in? It's really neat. It's like its living in little, wet sponges.
Do you wear jewelry a lot? I wear one necklace every single day and it has all good luck charms on it - four-leaf clover, Ganesh, hand of Fatima ... the evil eye - all the things that are good luck. *SN: Poole is a St. Patrick’s Day baby and has mentioned before her penchant for all-things that represent good luck.*
What do you like the most about your job? I like that I can help people and help people feel better about themselves and help people feel confident + pretty. I also like that I get to work with a lot of people that I love: the customers and the girls/women that I work with. I love them both. [It's] really nice to come in every day and love the people you work with.
Have you ever made a mistake? I make mistakes every single day and I try to fix them, and I keep on making mistakes and because I'm human. You can't always do everything right, but you just have to try to learn from all of your mistakes and do better every time, the nex time.
Do you have a favorite designer, and if so, who is she or he? Yes; her name is Phoebe Philo and she used to design for Celine. She just retired because she has three children and she wanted to take some time off. But, I like her because she understands the things that women want to wear.
Have you ever read Knuffle Bunny or Knuffle Bunny Too? No, I have not; I haven't read either of those. I don't think they had those in the 70s. *Bean went on to describe the plot of the two tales.* But it sounds like a great book.
Do you have a Highlights magazine or does your daughter? I don't have one on me right now, but my daughter loved Highlights. So she has a lot in her room, old ones. I like that magazine. *SN: Bean follows Poole's daughter on Instagram and is obsessed with her sense of style as well.
Do you or your daughter have the series Rainbow Fairies Magic? Neither of us have that. I need to know about that too!
Last question: which raisins do you like: regular or yogurt? Well, that’s the one thing I really don't like; I don't like raisins that much. I like grapes a lot. I don't like when they're dried into raisins, but if I were to choose - I would say yogurt raisins or chocolate covered raisins.
The End.
Odds and Ends:
* Bean's Outfit: Swan Dress from Little Goodall | Bows: Kixx Shoes | Shoe: Golden Goose Deluxe Brand from FarFetch
* Follow Laura Vinroot Poole: @CapitolClt | @pooleshop | Laura Vinroot Poole has appeared in the pages of Vogue, Elle, and pretty much every notable fashion tome ever printed. Xx
