10/25/2025
"I’m not originally from York. I’m originally from Charlotte. About nine years ago, we moved out here because we were trying to get more of the small-town life. Charlotte is too busy for us. We had a six-month-old at the time. You’re in the city, and you love it, and then you have a kid, and you realize, this isn’t a place for kids. So, we started looking for something else.
Originally, I was a seller on Etsy. I made a lot of handmade goods and sold them there, which was cool, but the handmade stuff takes a lot of time. I was working full time, sometimes overtime, with kids. In your brain, you’re like, “Yeah, I’m making stuff,” but then you spend 30 hours a week making stuff for free. It was basically a hobby. It didn’t sustain itself really well, but I did enjoy that aspect of things.
Then this opened in 2020, and we were always big fans of it, shopping in the marketplace. Around the end of 2022, I was like, “I want to do something,” and it all kind of came together in May of 2023—Memorial Day weekend, I opened up here. It made sense because I was still working 40-plus hours, with kids, and I didn’t have to be here full time. I was able to stock it, merchandise it, make it my own little spot in the world. But I didn’t have to monitor it 24/7 or deal with employees or overhead. All that stuff was kind of rolled in. Also, it kind of works because other people who have shops here—their customers become my customers, my customers become theirs. We feed off each other and have that bonus. You also don’t have to lease or buy an entire building. So, this is an easier way to accomplish that dream.
My vibe is boho chic—home décor and accessories, like home accessories, women’s accessories. We also have some women’s apparel. I really started with the home décor stuff. Something to bring life into your home with colors but also keep it simple in ways. Then it grew into apparel, and now I’ve just opened my second booth full of baby stuff. It’s given me another outlet to express that creativity and offer those unique items. People are always looking for more baby stuff. I am also now the operations manager and event coordinator for Yorkville Marketplace.
What I love about this community is the people and just the overall calmness of the area. It’s a little town, but there’s so much to do, and there’s also so much potential. I feel like it’s growing, and there’s going to be more to it, but it’ll still remain that classic downtown Main Street vibe.
People think starting a business is very intimidating, and it can be.
There’s a lot that goes into it. But having something here makes it a little simpler. Yeah, you still have to do your own bookkeeping, get your license, and that kind of thing, but in the end, having something here cuts out all the overhead. You don’t have to pay rent on a whole building or pay to have employees up front. Your stuff is safe and clean, and customers can check out up front. You can come in, stock your booths, make it look nice, and people will shop it. You don’t have to be on top of it all the time. It allows you to pivot and grow in that kind of way."
Krystal Fralic, Paislee Ray Boutique
