Bringing Her Dreams To Life

story by LINDSEY LENOIR            photos by TANYA LESHE’ PHOTOGRAPHY

Historically speaking, Beaufort is said to be one of the oldest settlements in the United States. As the biblical adage goes, one shouldn’t build a house upon the sand, for when the rains come, and the floods sweep through, there will be nothing left of the house. Interestingly enough, and for decades, sand is exactly what has provided a firm foundation for many of the structures in this small coastal town. On any given day, downtown is teeming with activity. Tourists and locals stroll along historic Bay Street, soaking in the salt air and admiring the waterfront views of sailboats and small vessels dotted along the Beaufort River. Beautiful palmetto trees adorn the skylines, and shrouds of Spanish moss drape over the branches of centuries-old live oaks. The next time you go downtown, take notice of some of its oldest structures — the foundations on which they sit, even the sea wall that protects our bluffs. If you look closely, you will notice that they are all made from the same material. Beautiful, organic, and sewn from the very ocean that surrounds you, deemed Tabby. Tabby is a type of concrete and is used in many coastal areas because the abundant natural resources required for its construction take up about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface.

When Jessica Mangano, owner and founder of The Tabby Shore Gift Boutique, first met her husband, Kyle, ten years ago in the small college town of Hattiesburg, MS, she had never heard of Beaufort, SC. Jessica certainly had no idea that she would not only call the Lowcountry home one day but that she would become part of a community of local business owners. “I met my husband while I was in college. He was born and raised in Beaufort, but his job ended up bringing him to Hattiesburg, MS, of all places.” She beams, “We met and hit it off immediately! He told me that he was from a small town in South Carolina, and of course, I had never heard of it. We would always talk about what it was like growing up in small towns, but when I went with him to visit Beaufort one Fourth of July weekend, I just fell in love. I couldn’t understand what he was doing in Mississippi and why he left a place like this to begin with.” From that first visit, Jessica said the goal was to eventually get back to Beaufort. Over the ensuing years, Jessica completed her bachelor’s degree in Education. She gained her master’s degree in Literacy from Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Illinois, always with the dream of returning to Beaufort one day. The couple would end up making a few stops along the way, and Jessica would spend the following years pursuing a teaching career in Mississippi, Illinois, and eventually in South Carolina: “We have been back here now for three years. It’s home for him, and now I call it home too.”

A Big Life Change
With the dream of moving back to Beaufort checked from the list, Jessica and Kyle began to settle into life back in the Lowcountry. However, what the two initially set out to accomplish in their careers soon started to go in a different direction: “Kyle and I had been back in Beaufort for a little while. I was teaching 7th grade English at Lady’s Island Middle School and planning on getting my PhD to eventually teach at a university level. I don’t know how to explain it, except that one day Kyle and I just got a bug, a wild hair that pushed us out of our comfort zones to open our own business.“ Kyle has a business degree and had always wanted to become part of the downtown area businesses, get involved, and leave a lasting mark on the community. “We talked a lot about what that would look like and how we could go about it,” but it wasn’t until a Christmas trip home to visit Jessica’s family in MS, that the couple would realize what their mark on the community of Beaufort would look like. “In my hometown, they have great little local shops and artists, and cute little restaurants. We went home that Christmas with not a single present that was pre-purchased. We ended up going around to all of the little shops and purchasing all of the presents from local boutiques and local artisans, and it was amazing to us that we were able to do that in such a small town. When we came back from that trip, we talked about how cool it would be to have something like that in Beaufort. To be able to house many local and regional artists, and give them a place to thrive and succeed and celebrate the local economy. It quickly evolved from “that would be fun” to “how do we do it and when?” Jessica and Kyle would spend months researching, planning, and laying the foundations of their new endeavor. Before they knew it, their dream had come to fruition: “By the end of May that year, we were about to open our very first business. There I was on my last day of school, I was a sobbing puddle after saying all of my goodbyes to my students and fellow teachers, and I had to collect myself and get presentable for a soft opening that evening. I rushed to it, having no idea what kind of turnout we would have, and it ended up being phenomenal! We had wonderful support that night, and we were floored! We thought this is going to be hard to beat!”

The Tabby Shore Gift Boutique
The store was met with tremendous support from locals and tourists alike. It saw the 2019 Water Festival, the summer months, and all of the downtown activities that they bring: tourists, festivals, cruise ships. The Tabby Shore even fared well through the winter months, typically the most challenging retail months across the board. However, when Covid hit our world and our communities, it was a curveball that no one could have foreseen. Jessica remembers, “We were gearing up for spring and feeling good about what was to come. Then all of a sudden Covid was here and completely threw us off guard. How do you even plan for something like that? Well, you can’t, so your only choice is to switch gears. So Kyle and I would sit out all day, overlooking the water at Common Ground. For hours and hours, we would sit, laptops open, building our website. We quickly got as much product on there as we could, and it was a saving grace. That, and social media. We had this huge outpouring of love from the community. Curbside pickup was amazing, and we were very fortunate to have such support.” The tourists kept coming from places like New Jersey, Georgia, Charlotte, and DC, areas within driving distance. People were staying for months, and Beaufort would end up making its mark on the map as a safe destination one could visit when everywhere else was shut down. “People were coming to get away from the cities. Our life could’ve changed very drastically had we not been in Beaufort during that time, and we are thankful that we are still able to do what we love.”

 

At the Tabby Shore, “we have a little bit of everything, but what we try to do is keep it handmade and local to South Carolina as much as possible. Right now, we represent right at 52 artists from all over SC; from artists, to makers, to authors. “We try to stay true to that as much as we can, but I also have a little Mississippi mixed in, and some Savannah artists, as well as other Georgia artists.” In the shop, you can find pottery, paintings, watercolor artists, local authors, local gourmet foods, and unique and local jewelry. “And we’ve even started carrying clothing. We are a boutique and gift shop. We have a little bit of everything!”

Kyle recently stepped away from his job, and the couple has opened a second business called Soiree’ Social Media. “The goal with ‘Soiree’ is to help some of our local artisans, local businesses, and makers with digital and social media marketing. Kyle and I are both at the shop pretty much full-time, but he has been there constantly while I get this new endeavor up and running.” Jessica and Kyle recently married in April 2021. After dating for almost ten years, the two were engaged right before The Tabby Shore’s official opening: “We had a simple, sweet, ceremony surrounded by family.”

Jessica was recently elected to be on the board for the Downtown Beaufort Merchants Association. It has allowed her and Kyle the chance to get to know their fellow merchants and neighbors. “The thing that drew me to Beaufort is that community feel. It was hard to leave my hometown, but my parents have always supported Kyle and me. They are so proud of what we have accomplished. My dad is so involved and even does daily check-ins to see how we are doing. They have been so supportive of everything we have chosen to do.”

With such great teachers and mentors in their wheelhouse, Jessica and Kyle have been given the tools to share their knowledge with their employees. “I have the most amazing team. When I hire someone, I have a teacher’s heart, so I always say, ‘If you are trainable, I would love to give you the opportunity.’ I love being able to work with the youth and take them under my wing and give them that positive and professional introduction into the workforce. Three of my girls are in high school, and this is their first job. I also employ my very good friend, Alex, one of our local artists, and another friend I met through the Junior Service League of Beaufort. So, five very amazing women from the community who I could not do any of this without them!”

As a woman in business, a teacher, and an entrepreneur, Jessica advises, “I have always told my students that if you have that dream or that goal in life, you can do it, but you have to buckle down and do the work. Because, it takes that drive and dedication. I didn’t have any formal education in opening, running, and maintaining a business. We spent countless hours researching, digging into it, meeting with the Small Business Association, meeting with mentors, and we put in so many hours in just learning about it beforehand. We are still learning! Just be a self-starter, be someone who seeks out information about what they want, and do not be afraid to fail. The fear of the unknown and failure scare a lot of people away from just going for what they want, but it is just so fulfilling to see your dreams come to life!”