Julie Britton
Julie Britton is a jack of all trades who can do anything she sets her mind to from owning her own business to running a donation based ‘Back Room of Hope’ for those battling cancer. To say Britton is a one-of-akind human being is truly an understatement.
Britton was born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio. Britton graduated from Mansfield Senior High School. From there, she worked at School Specialty for about 13 years. Britton shared she moved to Shelby almost 20 years ago when she met her husband, Larry Amato.
Later on, Britton was diagnosed with breast cancer. In June of 2012, Britton shared she ended her journey with cancer and made the decision she wanted to do something to give back to those who were battling cancer. This led to The Coolest Shop in Town and the Back Room of Hope.
Britton first explained just how she came up with the idea for The Coolest Shop in Town.
“When I quit School Specialty, I started buying a bunch of this stuff (crafts, decor). My intention was to go around and have parties and sell this stuff. I had catalogs that I could give people, and then they could order from the catalog. Then, it got to be so much because I was loading up the whole back of my truck with big totes and it was just me. So, that’s when I opened up the store front in 2012,” Britton said.
In December of 2012, Britton opened up her business and, in the back, she had a special room that had wigs, prosthesis bras, hats and turbans. All of these items were free of charge and all donated. This was the Back Room of Hope and there was privacy and a fitting room available.
“We have been able to help over 500 people that were in need of these items since December 2012. This is when we opened our store, we started with just my two used wigs/ bra and a form. We have