Made in Virginia Store & Sippin' Pop

Nicole Shaw and Natalie Booren are the owners of the Made in Virginia Store and Sippin' Pop.

Let's get to know Nicole and Natalie.

What’s your story?

While Natalie was in Utah dropping her oldest child off at college about ten years ago, she was first introduced to the concept of a “dirty” soda. One drink and she was hooked! Having never experienced anything like it on the east coast, she knew that we needed a gourmet soda shop in our area, she just needed to figure out how. After years of concocting drinks ideas in her kitchen and naming and renaming drinks with the help of her family, she finally convinced her sister, Nicole, that this was a great idea! And not only that they could but they should do this! The idea of Sippin’ Pop was born. It would take not only several years but owning another business, the Made In Virginia Store, before Sippin’ Pops first customer was served in September of 2023.

How has your unique identity contributed to your business?

Having purchased an existing business that had been a staple to downtown Fredericksburg for over thirty years, we knew we wanted to respect it’s past while bringing our own unique perspective and vision of what we wanted our customers shopping experience to look and feel like.

Having been raised as “military brats” while our father was serving in the United States Marine Corps, we had the opportunity to live in several states. Both of our parents are from Oklahoma, but Virginia is what we call home. We spent the majority of our childhood in Stafford, Virginia, and we both returned to Virginia as young married couples to raised our own families here. We love having the opportunity to share products from our “home” state of Virginia with our customers. 

We are also both former Early Childhood Special Education teachers which provides us with a unique lens a little different than that of the typical business owners perspective. For instance, we view the front window of our store as a bulletin board. We enjoy coming up with different ideas for the seasons. Our first summer owning the store we were so excited about creating a picnic scene to highlight a few of our products. We even included a bicycle carrying several of our products in one of the window sections. We were given some well-intended advice that we had missed the mark when it came to marketing what the Made In Virginia Store has to offer. What a surprise it was to us when several weeks later a very kind customer left a copy of the Washington Posts magazine insert that featured a picture of our store window! We may not be accomplishing our goals in the traditional manner. We trust ourselves and each other to make the best decisions for our businesses. 

How do you ensure that your store maintains a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone?

With our special education teaching background creating an inclusive environment for all regardless of the setting was and is very important to us. We share our beliefs on this topic with our employes by providing training to ensure that no matter the day, the time, the place (in-store or online), or the employee working, we continually strive for all of our customers to have a truly satisfying and enjoyable experience. It is our goal to make each person regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability to feel welcomed into a warm and friendly shopping environment.

Why did you decide to open a business in Fredericksburg?

After spending over two years looking for the perfect location to establish a new business, the opportunity presented itself to buy an existing business in Fredericksburg. The location was perfect! Downtown Fredericksburg is the heart that ties Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George and Caroline counties together. And on Caroline Street next to the alley to Market Square where we have spent many afternoons with our eight children, we couldn’t ask for a better location! 

What is your favorite part of owning a business in Fredericksburg and being a part of this community?

Being in Fredericksburg allows us the best of both worlds. 

We have the opportunity to serve the local community by the Made In Virginia store being the place to pick up your favorite Virginia snacks or wine, Virginia gift boxes and baskets, gifts to bring to others when traveling, and being a destination to bring your out of town guests. While a stop in at Sippin’ Pop provides the perfect opportunity for a cold or hot gourmet drink and treat while you stroll the streets of Fredericksburg. 

We also have the opportunity daily to serve the tourists that have chosen to make Fredericksburg one of their destinations. Spending time getting to hear a bit of their stories and sharing with them snippets of Fredericksburg’s rich history and offering suggestions of places to shop, eat, and visit while in the area makes our experience extremely rewarding.

How do you keep going when times get tough?

By reminding ourselves that the term “small business” really doesn’t do it justice. There is nothing small about us dedicating every ounce of our heart and soul into making our dreams come true. 

If you could share one message with the community, what would it be?

One is hard!

Competing with big box stores may not be something we will ever be able to do price wise, but customer service wise, we strive to win every time. We want our customers to leave with feelings that are best described in the intro song from the television show Cheers. “Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name (or drink order!) and they’re always glad you came! (Always! All are welcome!)

When you shop local, not only are you supporting our small business but you are supporting other small businesses in Virginia that provide us their amazing products!

You can find Nicole and Natalie at 920 Caroline St.

View the Made in Virginia Store website and follow them Facebook and Instagram.

Follow Sippin' Pop on Facebook and Instagram.