Many CEOs may wake up early to go to work, but Luling resident Cali Bartholomew, the CEO of The Cali Collection, wakes up early for a completely different reason – to get ready for elementary school.
The 5-year-old is an integral part of The Cali Collection – an online clothing boutique for little girls that launched in November 2020.
Cali’s mother Trinesha Bartholomew said she and Cali started the boutique after realizing their style was something other people wanted to emulate.
“On social media I always posting her in different clothing and people would always ask me where I got her things,” Trinesha said. “She was always dressed up in different and unique clothing, and it came to the point where I was always giving out references all the time and I thought, ‘Why not start our own clothing store?’”
Trinesha said she began searching out different vendors and researching the business side of running a boutique almost a year before she and Cali launched the online boutique.
“Cali loves to dress up and she loves fashion,” Trinesha said. “She knows that she’s the business owner. She knows how to pack orders. I’m the owner and I call her the CEO. Right now we’re running everything out of the house, but I’m looking for a bigger space. We have shelves on tops of shelves right now. It’s just been explosive growth.”
The Cali Collection has been featured on billboards and in a FOX News segment. And while a storefront isn’t necessary on the duo’s radar for now, Trinesha said she would love to purchase a clothing bus so she could have a mobile store and would eventually love to manufacture all the boutique’s pieces in their own factory.
“When little girls wear The Cali Collection I want them to feel empowered,” she said. “Empowered in a way knowing that they can achieve anything they put their mind to. A lot of little girls lack self-confidence and I pray that stops. I want to be a voice to little girls that lets them know it doesn’t matter what race or size you are … you’re beautiful. So many little girls feel like princesses when they wear our cute boots and stylish clothing. Those are the smiles I love to see.”
Cali said owning the business definitely has its perks.
“My favorite part is dressing up with my friends,” she said.
To shop The Cali Collection, visit www.thecalicollectionllc.com.
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