Big Man on Campus - Moravian College

“I Can Do This”
Linda evans Shotkus ’69 is living her dream and
making the world more beautiful, one woman at a time.
By Caroline Funk Rabold ’69 and John Greenya
I
can do this myself, thought Linda Evans
Shotkus as she left the job interview with
Nancy Talbot of Talbot Clothing Stores &
Catalogs. The year was 1977, the city was
Boston, and Linda, class of ’69, an eight year
veteran of the retail clothing wars, had just
been offered a very good job. But Linda was
tired of working for other people, and as
soon as the light bulb went on, she could
see with clarity what was in her heart. She
would follow her dream and open her own
store.
Today, the wisdom of that decision is
readily apparent. Founded in 1978, Lyn
Evans for Potpourri Design is a thriving
business with nine stores—six in the Boston
area (Concord, Danvers, Hanover, Hingham,
Wellesley, and Westborough) and three in
Connecticut (Canton, New Canaan, and West
Hartford), 80 employees, and a very happy
owner. Linda even convinced her husband,
Stan Shotkus, who had been in the manu-
facturing end of the retail business, to come
aboard as manager of operations. Their
current goal is to expand Lyn Evans for Pot-
pourri Design to 15 stores.
In keeping with its corporate motto of
“Making the world more beautiful, one wom-
an at a time,” the high-end boutique chain
offers an intriguing mix of fashionable yet
comfortable clothing with accessories, for
everything from black tie to casual Friday.
The stores’ unique niche is that they cater to
women who are looking for fashion direction
and also to the sophisticated buyer who is
too busy to spend much time shopping. Lyn,
who sees herself as “the middle man between
Left: Linda Evans Shotkus has a passion for fashion.
Right: Scenes from Potpourri Designs.
the wholesaler and the consumer,” prides
herself on taking an active part in the design
and décor of all her stores to ensure that
their creative displays and window dress-
ings lure the customers in to see more.
Linda Evans
Shotkus credits her
psychology major at
Moravian with giving
her the background
necessary for suc-
cessful competition
in a field where
people skills are
essential: “Moravian
helped me gain the
self-esteem and self-
confidence to pursue
my dream.” An active
and involved alum,
Linda advises stu-
dents interested in a
career in retailing to
study a mix of courses in business, especial-
ly marketing and retail management, as well
as courses in the social sciences. She says,
“Moravian’s new Leadership Program is an
excellent course of study.”
For Linda, Potpourri is anything but a
9-5 job. “But life isn’t a 9-5 job either,” she
says. “It takes commitment to excel, but you
don’t have to be a rocket scientist. If you use
common sense and capitalize on a solid work
ethic, you’ll be successful.” W
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