From a Jacksonville Flea Market to the Vegas Strip: Retired Veteran Turns Small Business into Luxury Fashion Store

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – What started as a small business selling jewelry and clothes at the Ramona Flea Market in Jacksonville is now a luxury fashion store on the Las Vegas Strip.

This is a story about following your dreams and the determination it takes to succeed.

A Jacksonville native and his family spoke to News4JAX about how their strong faith and determination to grow landed them a spot in one of America’s most popular travel destinations.

Richard Clark — a retired US Air Force veteran and Jacksonville native — graduated from William M. Raines High School in 1991 and served for 23 years. After he retired, he returned to Jacksonville and started a small jewelry business, selling products at local flea markets with his wife, Clare Skinner, and daughter, Persia.

“My wife actually came up with the idea to start some kind of small business,” Clark said in an interview with News4JAX. “So we started at the flea market and then from there, we spent a year, you know, selling the jewelry, the leggings, me sitting in the back of the truck with him, him (pointing to the girl) and my wife on the go. mannequins around.”

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Within a year, he expanded to pop-up boutiques at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and did them for four years.

The real journey began when Clark and his family went on vacation to Las Vegas.

“We went to Circus Circus and saw this lady who had her shop there, and my wife said, well, why can’t we do that?” Clark said.

When they returned home from their trip, they hit the ground running.

“We came back to Jacksonville, you know, all excited. We had to come up with a game plan and we thought we had to show them something. So she contacted Caesars Palace, MGM, everybody—the Palms Hotel, every casino hotel and resort in Las Vegas. We were just getting feedback and then we sat down together to see what we needed to do,” Clark said.

To lure business owners to Las Vegas, Clark and Skinner first opened a store at the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale.

The store, named “Mahruyeh” after the middle name of the couple’s youngest daughter, is noted for its beautiful and unique hand-picked designs, which Clark personally created. Mahruyeh (pronounced: Muh-Ray-uh) is a Persian name meaning “beautiful face”.

Clark said they did the entire Las Vegas store themselves. No contractors, just the three of them with occasional help from friends and family.

“I had a friend here. Luckily, he came in to help me tear up the floor because the previous tenants taped it up,” Clark said. “So you’re talking to me up a flight of stairs with my 8-year-old handing me panels and my wife holding the ladder . So it was a process.”

Clark said he thanks his mom and dad, uncles and aunts and friends Valdez Hill and Rod Farris for their support.

“Within two weeks, they took us to the Fashion Show mall and offered us a No. 1 spot on the list at Caesars Palace,” Clark said.

Within months, Clark’s business had moved from a small boutique to the luxurious Fashion Show Center on the Las Vegas Strip, positioning it among the top designer stores.

The family said they’re saving to one day open a store at Caesars Palace, but in the meantime, they’re working hard at their current store to put themselves on the map, pay the bills and stand out from the competition.

“Right now, we’re really just trying to get our name out there as much as possible,” Clark said. “And that’s what we really need. We just need to put Mahruyeh on the map because, as you said, we are here with the giants. We’re here with Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Macy’s, you know, Dillard’s is close to home. So it’s difficult. But advertising…advertising is huge. And that’s why we need to make as much money as we can afford to pay for that ad. Because it’s expensive and it’s the biggest part of the business.”

Clark said other small business owners with big dreams need to have a plan, work hard and believe in themselves.

“There’s a lot of effort and determination, but at the same time, there’s a lot of risk involved because we’ve invested a lot of money in Fort Lauderdale,” Clark said. “To achieve this, it is as if we had only been open for two months. So you’re talking about putting thousands of dollars into a show just as a platform to get to where you want to be. But everything lined up perfectly. I would say, ‘Believe in yourself, but keep your ducks in a row because business is tough.'”

Clark said the opportunities keep coming and they hope people will show up to support the business. He hopes everyone will stop by when traveling and check out Mahruyeh.com. The family prides itself on excellent customer experience, great energy and excitement, and compassion.

“We’re just a very normal family and we’re doing the best we can here,” Clark said. “I really want to ask the public to just give us that support. This is what we need. This is what we really need right now to grow this brand. This is the phase we are in”.

Clark said the future is bright and he can envision his store in several different malls. Click here to view