Alyssa and Dan Thiel | PCB Home

Name: Parris Chic Boutique

Location: Cranbury, NJ

It’s a safe bet to say that Alyssa Thiel never imagined that her hobby of making hand-crafted decorative items for the home would turn into a thriving e-commerce business with over 6,000 5-star reviews. She certainly never imagined that she would be the owner of a charming retail location. Or that her wares would be featured by one of the hottest designers in the country. But that’s exactly where she and her business partner and husband, Dan, find themselves today.

Alyssa and Dan are the owners of Parris Chic Boutique (PCB), where retail and wholesale customers can find a wide array of hand-crafted home and lifestyle decorative items (such as pillows, throws, tea towels, etc) that can be personalized with embroidery or calligraphy. Alyssa started out crafting pillows part-time in her living room soon after marrying Dan in 2012. With his encouragement, she focused full-time on the business and by 2015 the two had opened a retail location in Allentown, NJ in addition to their online shop.

As the five-star reviews started coming in, Allysa and Dan expanded their offerings and sales thanks to five full-time employees and a team of home-based seamstresses. Their work was being featured in design and wedding magazines and even Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer-Upper fame fell in love with the personalized pillows. Each room in The Magnolia House, the Gaines’s vacation rental property, features a pillow from Parris Chic!

It’s no wonder that PCB soon outgrew its location. When Alyssa and Dan found the perfect location on historic Main Street in Cranbury, NJ, they were fortunate to find the perfect financing vehicle – UCEDC’s 504 Commercial Real Estate loan program. Their young business needed to be smart about every dollar and with the 504 loan, they were able to save a significant amount of cash by putting only 10% down, instead of the typical 20%-30% required in a conventional loan.

"Ellen and the team at UCEDC were tremendously helpful and attentive to the needs of our business. They took time to understand where we were and where we were looking to head in the future,” says Alyssa. “Our goals were made a reality due to the flexible financing options and competitive rates provided by UCEDC. We’re so grateful for this connection and look forward to working with them again to grow our business!"