Recollections

 

Featured Victorian Lady

www.recollections.biz

1-800-452-5925

 

Victoria Otto

You might not guess that a person with a BS in mathematics would be the romantic sort, but you would be mistaken! Victoria Otto has always had a place in her heart for things Victorian. In 2000, when she was planning to retire from her first career as a teacher, she started her first online venture, Victorian Laurels VictorianLaurels.com, a site featuring an eclectic mix of romantic Victorian-inspired perfumes, pillows and gifts. In 2004, Victoria purchased the URL for the Victorian Heart Shoppe VictorianHeartShoppe.com without, she says, any clear intention of what she was going to do with it. While looking for a way to advertise Victorian Laurels, she decided that it would be a good idea to create an online mall where other lovers of Victoriana could form a community of like-minded businesses. Victoria approached her husband Jeff with her idea, and thus the Victorian Heart Shoppe was born. The first couple of years were devoted to developing the site and gathering vendors. The big break came when the Victorian Heart Shoppe was featured in an article in Victoriana Magazine in March of 2008 and business exploded. After Victoriana quit publishing for two years, Victoria and Jeff decided they would start their own online magazine, and in January of 2010, they published their first edition of Victorian Etc. VictorianEtc.com. The new venture was an instant success. Today Victoria reports that after less than a year in existence, the e-zine has over 500 followers on Twitter and about 200 subscriptions to their free newsletter which accompanies the magazine.

 

If you know someone that has taken their love of Victoriana and made it into an interesting business or hobby, and you think they should be featured in our Victorian Lady pages,

please email or call us and let us know!

sales@recollections.biz

www.recollections.biz

1-800-452-5925

 

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Victorian Heart Shoppe

Victorian Laurels

Victorian Etc.

Victoria’s enthusiasm for her many ventures is evident in the way she strikes up a conversation with her readers. On every site, she welcomes you – as if into her parlor – where she invites you to take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the lovely items presented. Clearly she enjoys selecting and sharing all the treasures she offers on her sites. With Jeff’s technical support Victoria says she is free to “create, design, discover, calculate, write, and fantasize.” She is excited about what is possible not only for herself, but for others as well. Victoria’s excitement is contagious, as she encourages others to pursue their dreams as well. A wonderful example of a Christian woman, Victoria readily credits the effect of God and His goodness in her life.

 The Victorian Heart Shoppe shows the results of Victoria’s taste and attention to detail, as she has gathered a large group of vendors who have “moved in” and opened up shops in her lovingly-created virtual mall. Set up much as a real mall would be, you are invited to stroll down various avenues, and window-shop at each store to your heart’s content because, as Victoria observes, “Women love to window-shop!” One can only anticipate what treasures are to be found in each place, and it would be easy to spend a leisurely afternoon surrounded by the elegant, romantic and whimsical items found there. 


 

 

Victoria and husband Jeff, who she says is, “My webmaster, soul mate, and support line for all of these ventures”, reside in New Mexico. With their daughter and grandchildren living in Texas, Victoria and Jeff still have two “babies” at home; their bloodhounds Dukey, who is six years old, and Roscoe (featured below) who is not yet one.   

Author’s note: When I first went to the Victorian Heart Shoppe site, I bookmarked the page right away, as it was immediately certain that I wanted to come back and browse at a more leisurely pace. The onsite mall is very large, and the variety of items offered - while different from each other - all carry with them the same theme; a love of everything romantic and Victorian!

 - Sue McDonald

 

You can contact Victoria Otto at info@victorianheartshoppe.com