
Photo courtesy of Alabama Retail Association
Christie Howell is the owner of the Wrapsody boutiques in Hoover, Homewood, Trussville, Auburn and Madison, Alabama.
Christie Howell, a Vestavia Hills resident who owns the Wrapsody gift boutiques in Trussville, Homewood, Hoover, Auburn and Madison, has been elected to the Alabama Retail Association’s board of directors.
Her two-year term began Jan. 1. Wrapsody employs 88 people at its five locations. Howell worked at the Auburn Wrapsody store while in college. When she purchased the business in 2017, Wrapsody was in Hoover and Auburn only. Over the next seven years, Howell moved the Hoover store and added three new stores.
In 2023, with a Small Business Administration loan, she and her husband, Reel, bought several parcels of property on 18th Street and Linden Avenue in Homewood. Besides a store, Wrapsody’s warehouse and corporate office are in Homewood.
Wrapsody has been a member of the Alabama Retail Association since 2005 and was recognized in 2023 as the Gold Alabama Retailer of the Year for businesses with annual sales between $5 million and $20 million. Howell is also part owner of Once Upon a Time, a children’s boutique in Homewood and Mountain Brook. Once Upon a Time has been an ARA member since 2007 and was recognized in 2016 as the Gold Alabama Retailer of the Year for businesses with sales of less than $1 million.