RIDGEWAY – On her way home from Arizona, Tina Johnson got a message on her phone at the Charlotte airport. She recalled looking down at her phone, then catching her breath and putting her hand to her chest in disbelief. It was an order for a dress from her Over the Top dress boutique in Ridgeway. But it wasn’t just any order. It was from the U.K.
“I was like, what?” Johnson said, laughing now but still in disbelief. “I’ve sold merchandise across the state and across the United States, but never across the pond.”
For 17 years, Johnson’s shop has been known for its women’s upscale, affordable clothing and accessories as well as an exceptional customer experience. Now, a customer from Northwich, Cheshire, United Kingdom, ordered a dress after seeing it on Over The Top’s website.
Johnson said she immediately called her husband Rick to tell him about the order.
“’Do me a favor,’ she said, recalling the rather frantic conversation. ‘Make sure that dress is still there!” she instructed. “Then he said, ‘Yeah, you have three of them.’”
“’Good,’ I said. ‘Pull the small one,’” Johnson recalled the conversation.
For Johnson, the sale was more than a typical transaction. She said it was proof that the work she has been doing through her website, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, reels, newsletters, and digital advertising is reaching far beyond Ridgeway.
“It was so exciting that I ended up working all day at the shop on the website,” Johnson said. “It spurred me to post more clothes and clean the site up some.”
Her growing online presence has brought orders from Virginia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia.
“Many of those customers first discovered Over The Top while visiting Ridgeway, stopping in for tea, traveling through the area, or visiting family in the area,” Johnson said.
But the United Kingdom order was different.
“I was so excited to get an order from England, that I couldn’t wait to ship it,” Johnson said. “Getting it there was straightforward. I snapped a photo of the package, and sent it on its way, I entered the tracking information into the website, and the U.K. customer received confirmation.”
Johnson posts regularly to several social media platforms, but she said reels have proven to be the most effective.
Besides paying her for her Facebook posts, Johnson said the platform also gives her feedback, showing what works and what could be improved.
“I’m learning as I go,” Johnson said. “I’m doing the learning, and I’m having to do the work.”
That work now includes reaching customers who may never walk through the door in Ridgeway, but Johnson said the heart of the business hasn’t changed. Whether a customer is standing in front of the mirror in her boutique or ordering a dress from England, Johnson said she wants things in her shop to make women feel good about themselves.
“My business is there to support women,” she said. “I just want them to see the beauty within themselves.”
The UK order may be just one order, but to Johnson, it represents something much more: her shop finding its way across the world.
“I just love it,” she said. “My heart beams.”