Christie Howell, owner of Wrapsody, a five-store gift boutique, has been elected to the Alabama Retail Association’s board of directors. Her two-year term begins Jan. 1.
Christie Howell
Wrapsody employs 88 at its locations in Hoover, Auburn, Trussville, Homewood and Madison.
Howell worked at the Auburn Wrapsody store while in college. When she purchased the business in 2017, Wrapsody was in Hoover and Auburn only. Over the next seven years, Howell moved the Hoover store and added three new stores. In 2023, with an SBA 504 loan, she and her husband, Reel, bought several parcels of property on 18th Street and Linden Avenue in Homewood. Besides a store, Wrapsody’s warehouse and corporate office are in Homewood.
Wrapsody has been a member of the Alabama Retail Association since 2005 and was recognized in 2023 as the Gold Alabama Retailer of the Year in the Annual Sales $5 million to $20 million category.
Howell is also part owner of Once Upon a Time, a children’s boutique in Homewood and Mountain Brook. Once Upon a Time has been an ARA member since 2007 and was recognized in 2016 as the Gold Alabama Retailer of the Year in the Annual Sales Less Than $1 Million category.
For six years before buying Wrapsody, Christie worked as a first-grade teacher. Christie has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Auburn University and a masters of elementary education from Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
“I joined the Alabama Retail Association to meet people in the industry,” said Howell. “The association promotes networking, celebration of success and comradery among Alabama small businesses.”
Howell, her husband and their two sons live in Vestavia Hills.
The Alabama Retail Association represents retailers, the largest private employer in the state of Alabama, before the Alabama Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Our 4,400 independent merchant and national company members touch almost every aspect of daily living. Whether voicing the retail view when public policy is made, educating members about issues that impact them, negotiating rates for benefits and services or communicating the retail story, the Alabama Retail Association and its members are better together.
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