SARA CRAWFORD QUINONES
Rooted Clothing Company
More Than Just a Clothing Store
story by JENNIFER BROWN CARPENTER photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY
When she was growing up, Sara Crawford Quinones knew one thing for sure: she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. She never went to college because she always felt that was not her path. But while in high school, she and her twin sister, Katie, would joke around about opening a clothing store one day. Now, as a wife and mom, Sara has found a way to do both and can run her clothing store while staying at home with her three sons: Crawford (age 6), Merrick (age 3), and Reid (age 4 months).
Sara was born and raised in Beaufort, graduating from Beaufort High School. She met her husband, Adrian, and they married in 2014, right here in Beaufort before moving to California, where Adrian was stationed. They lived in California for almost five years before they were sent back to Beaufort. When Adrian was stationed here the first time, he loved the area. After settling back in, they decided to raise their family here. And with their extended family local, they looked into their options. They learned more about the incredible homeschool community in Beaufort. All of these things led them to want to stay.
This year will mark 14 years of Adrian serving in the Marine Corps. After 14 years and five moves in the last eight years, the Quinones familyis ready to settle down. No more moves, no more deployments, no more uncertainty. They spent time praying for a long time about what it would look like in the future when Adrian could retire from active duty. Sara was determined to do whatever she could to help her family and started working actively in network marketing. She used this side hustle for two years to build savings for when Adrian got out of the Marine Corps.
At the time, Sara thought that career would be what she did for quite a while, but then she got sick with Covid for almost two months. Immediately after that, she got pregnant with their third baby. The morning sickness and leftover weakness from Covid made it hard for her to keep up with her career. By the time she felt ready to jump back in, she felt the Lord holding her back and telling her it was time to stop with network marketing. “I do not know how to explain it. It was just so clear that I was done,” Sara says. After that decision was finalized, the conversation started again: What could Adrian and Sara do to stay in Beaufort and create a comfortable and, more importantly, stable life for their family?
Randomly one day, she came across a YouTube video of a girl sharing step-by-step how she started her own clothing store. “I watched it and thought, ‘that seems easy,’” Sara laughs. She checked out the girl’s YouTube channel and found close to 50 videos, outlining more about running a boutique. Sara binge-watched every single video. She texted Adrian and said, “What if I started a clothing store?” That same weekend, Sara got a business license. It was real. They were doing it! All of the money Sara had made and saved from her network marketing venture was still waiting as a cushion, and they took every penny of that money and invested it into opening Sara’s clothing store.
Sara had a few different potential name ideas for her clothing store. She knew it needed to have meaning. The name she kept coming back to was Rooted. As she thought more about what that could mean, the Lord showed her very clearly. To be rooted is what Adrian and Sara had been longing for, not just for themselves but for their boys. They want to be rooted in the community and continue being rooted in their beliefs and the Lord. In every aspect, Rooted was what made sense. And so, Rooted Clothing Company was born.
Life can be chaotic when you’re a mom of three little boys and running a brand new business. “I focus on the little pockets of time when I can work on my phone, like during the boys’ nap time. I can purchase products, answer any questions from employees, things like that. Sometimes it can get overwhelming, but at the end of the day, I’m able to be home with my boys, and that’s the most important thing.” Sara has had to lower her expectations, knowing she cannot be all the things and do all the things. She is focusing on the boys and the business.
Adrian has been incredibly supportive of Sara during this whole venture. He takes a handful of business cards everywhere and passes them out to the women he sees while he is out. Adrian was a Marine Recruiter, so he is excellent at selling things and has done a fantastic job marketing for Rooted. He also spends evenings with the boys while Sara does work in the store. They have had to sacrifice a lot of their time together, especially their evenings, which they have always cherished. Still, they know that this is just for a season while they continue to grow the business, and that this will be incredibly beneficial for their family and the store in the long run.
Beaufort has a lot of boutiques in the downtown area, but there are not as many options for local women. Rooted is a cool opportunity to provide something to local women that they have never had before. “I’m friends now with people I had never even met before they walked into my store,” Sara says. It is a safe space for moms to shop and bring their kiddos without worrying about getting lost or breaking anything. It is a very relaxed environment. “It’s a judgment-free zone; it’s very casual. We welcome everyone who comes in.”
Rooted is the perfect place to shop for every woman. Whether you are looking for athletic wear, jeans, shoes, a frilly dress, accessories, or a graphic tee shirt, Rooted has it. Sara is constantly thinking outside her fashion box to ensure she provides clothes that everyone will enjoy. “Anyone from 13 and up could come and shop at Rooted,” Sara says. They have customers over 60 years old who love what they find in the store.
Adrian is set to retire from the Marine Corps next September. This has provided them time to open Rooted and grow the business so that things will run smoothly by next fall. Rooted is a space where people can come and know they are seen. Dot Crawford, Sara’s mom, works in the shop and loves hearing people’s stories, praying for them, and sharing Jesus with them. It has become a way of doing ministry for her.
One of the bonuses of owning Rooted for Sara is what it is teaching her sons. “We are doing this for THEM. Everything we do is to keep them in a stable environment.” But it is also showing them that Sara is more than just a mom. She is her own person with her own interests, goals, and dreams. Being able to do what she loves to do outside of being a mom makes her a better mom. “Women shouldn’t have to feel torn between doing what they love and being a mom.”
Sara says, “We are very family-oriented. We love Beaufort and could not imagine raising our boys anywhere else. This business is new to us; we’re taking it one day at a time, learning from our mistakes, and trying to improve each day. We want to grow in relationships with people in the community. We’re here for the long haul, and we have exciting plans for the business moving forward.”
