Meet Shani Ferguson and Alley Dean | Co-Owners of Disco Honey

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shani Ferguson and Alley Dean and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shani and Alley, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Shani wanted to have her own boutique since she was 19 but having her own business changed over that time and started with her own jewelry line. At a pop up, she met Alley who also had her own jewelry business. The two became friends and both joined Charlotte Collective. After a few years, they both outgrew their spaces there and decided it was time for the next step. They each had complementary styles and decided to choose community over competition, join forces, and open their own store together. Disco Honey opened in September of 2022.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At Disco Honey we try to have the most fun and unique things. One of our customers told us “Walking in here is like an instant dopamine hit” and that is truly what we were hoping for. All the happy vibes when you walk in. When we go to market to buy for our store the customer is always first in our mind. What’s going on in their life? What events do they have this season? We think of specific customers while buying too which is so fun as we’ve grown, we’ve gotten to really know our loyal customers so buying for them is the best! We had separate jewelry businesses before we decided to join forces and open Disco Honey so choosing to let go of our individual brand identities we had each built for 7 years wasn’t a decision we took lightly. Moving from being micro businesses to having our own store front was definitely a challenge with all the expenses and everything else that comes along with it but we were definitely ready for a challenge to move forward to grow. We are both so thankful we have a partner to do this with because it’s twice as fun and half as scary. So we made the right choice by choosing community over competition and never looked back!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Obviously the first stop on the CLT tour would be Disco Honey! Happy to show off our beautiful store and what we work so hard for. We would then venture over to check out Boem , another cute boutique (we love being their neighbors). Then we would grab lunch at Sabor and get the best queso ever. Charlotte is definitely best explored by neighborhoods so after Southpark we would head to Southend and hope it’s a weekend where either Front Porch Sunday was happening or Nebel’s Alley night Market. We’d grab dinner at Hawkers and then get ice cream at Jeni’s before strolling the market. The next stop would be Camp North End where our favorite thrift shop is, Thrift Pony. There is so much to do and see in Charlotte it is hard to pick!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people to thank for our success! First of all, both of our moms co-signed our lease so we could have our storefront. Not to mention all the years of love and support they have given us and taught us that we can truly do whatever we want to in this life. We wouldn’t be where we are without all of our amazing customers, the loyal ones as well as the new ones who discover us every day! Charlotte truly loves showing up for small businesses and we are so thankful for that.

Website: https://www.discohoney.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsdiscohoney

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsdiscohoney

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsdiscohoney

Image Credits
All photos provided were taken by us.