A three-generation family of female entrepreneurs in Kent recently celebrated the opening of a new brick-and-mortar shop.
Tasha Kardos, a 25-year-old Kent local, held a grand opening of her Acorn Alley shop, Midnight Fairy Jewelry, June 30.
“I am filled with pride,” said Ann Kardos, Tasha’s mother. “I’m so happy for her.”
Becky Gorczyca started the family line of entrepreneurs when she began working at Logos Bookstore, a Christian bookstore, and later became an owner. Her daughter, Ann Kardos, continued the Logos legacy when she took over the store with her husband. And now her daughter, Tasha Kardos, has taken inspiration from her family to start a business of her own.
Tasha Kardos’ store is filled with hair accessories, apothecary items, intention crystals and other spiritual objects.
She said she first found a passion for rocks and crystals when she discovered her grandmother’s old ’50s or ’60s book that talked about Greek gods and goddesses.
This book wasn’t the only thing her grandmother passed down to her.
When Gorczyca started working at Logos Bookstore in the ’70s, she had no idea that she was taking the first step in creating a line of female entrepreneurs.
“It was kind of by accident,” Gorczyca said. “I trained to be a teacher and a group of people in Kent wanted to open a Christian bookstore. After a couple of years, I started helping in that store, and basically caught the entrepreneurial bug.”
Gorczyca worked at and co-owned Logos until 1996 when she took the role as executive director of the Association of Logos Bookstores, which has been around since the opening of the Kent store. The Association was founded in 1974, providing resources and a community to Logos bookstores across the country.
To this day, Gorczyca works with 18 independent stores to plan an annual conference, work with publishers to produce a catalog for the stores twice a year and visit the stores.
Above all, she helps the bookstores encourage, inspire and learn from each other.
Now that the store and association are celebrating 50 years, Gorczyca reflected on where she found her inspiration to join the business world without a business background.
“I had to keep my eyes and ears open and listen for wisdom and advice in any place I could find it,” she said. “Being an entrepreneur is hard work, but it also gives us an opportunity to be creative and also within a framework of discipline.”
She passed her creativity and drive on to her daughter, Ann Kardos, who has since fully taken over the bookstore with her husband, Shane Kardos.
Growing up, Ann Kardos said she was always involved in the store, working there during summer break and spending her days reading books there.
“I just love it,” Ann Kardos said. “I love the mission of the store and being a positive influence in the community, just trying to reach out to people and give them hope.”
Through Logos, which in Greek means “the word,” Ann Kardos said she has found that she always had an entrepreneurial spirit.
As a retail entrepreneur, she said she always sees the opportunities in life.
“It’s just really empowering to realize that you can be your own boss … and make decisions that boost your own life,” Ann Kardos said.
When she discovered Bible journaling, she found a way to join her creative and entrepreneurial spirits together. The art form involves drawing in wide-margin Bibles and using creativity to understand verses.
Ann opened Faith and Art Shop, a part of Logos, where she goes to scrapbooking conferences, does weekend expos and brings the art form to people across the country.
Tasha Kardos said her mother has been the most supportive person with the opening of her shop, coming in all the time to help out.
As a kid, Tasha Kardos learned to make jewelry and hair accessories from her grandmother. Similar to her mother’s childhood, she hung out at Logos all the time.
“Growing up, she was a stubborn little kid, which I guess a lot of people in my family are, so maybe that’s part of our entrepreneurial spirit,” Ann Kardos said. “We’re just too scrappy and too stubborn to give up on stuff.”
When she got older, she started working at Hippie Fox Rocks and selling hair clips there and at Tiger Rae.
She branched out to local flea markets and even started hosting her own events with her friend in Acorn Alley.
“I knew somehow, I wanted to work with crystals,” Tasha Kardos said.
Once space in Acorn Alley opened up, she took it with just one month to prepare for her opening.
Tasha Kardos said it was comforting to open a store in Acorn Alley, as she is friends with many of the business owners there and felt safe.
Though she has built a separate reputation from her family’s store, Tasha Kardos said she is inspired by her mother and grandmother.
“They’re both extremely hardworking,” Tasha Kardos said. “They don’t get any breaks. They’re always very business-oriented. My grandma will always find a way to work something out or get a business deal going.”
Gorczyca said she is very proud of her daughter and granddaughter.
“Both of them are using the gifts that they have been given, their God-given gifts, to share with people,” she said. “I hope that they will continue to survive and thrive in a changing marketplace.”
