Color Crush
Charleston style brand The Tiny Tassel offers handmade accessories and apparel in a delightful spectrum of hues
By Kathryn Davé
Mimi Striplin, owner of The Tiny Tassel, offers beaded accessories that marry craftsmanship with the brand’s signature love of color; photograph courtesy of The Tiny Tassel.
You can’t walk into The Tiny Tassel, a charming boutique and brand in Charleston, without breaking into a smile. And if you’re too far from Charleston to visit in person, popping over to the brand’s website has the exact same effect. Joy is the point. “That’s our whole goal—to spread more joy in the world and to have every customer leave a little more joyful,” explains founder and owner Mimi Striplin.
Growing up in a creative, entrepreneurial family, Striplin dreamed of someday owning a boutique, but she imagined it would come much later after a corporate career. Instead, a pair of vibrant tassel earrings she crafted for herself in 2015 became the foundation of a company that would go on to catch the eye of the nation, including an appearance on The Today Show. Striplin’s ebullient brand features handmade accessories, jewelry, and clothing inspired by the colors of Charleston. Each vibrant piece is handmade by a women-led team in Charleston or in partnership with global artisans.
Still a bestseller, the tassel earrings (above, left) that started it all come in every shade of the rainbow. The shop also stocks hand-crafted beaded purses and other accessories; photography courtesy of The Tiny Tassel.
After a year or two of steady growth, including expanding her line of jewelry beyond tassel earrings, Striplin felt it was time to bring in her mom. Now the lead designer for the brand, Keiko Striplin leaned on her fashion design background to create The Tiny Tassel’s first apparel collection. Today, she and Mimi collaborate on the initial inspiration—often coming straight from their own customers or the rainbow-hued Charleston surroundings—before Keiko designs the prints and patterns for bright, yet classic garments that offer a slight twist on traditional.
Striplin, who is Black and Japanese, has championed female and minority entrepreneurs since the company’s earliest days. She was one of the first retail spots to open in Charleston’s charming Cannonborough-Elliotborough neighborhood, and she did so to increase the representation of diversity in Charleston’s retail spaces. “I never really experienced a store in Charleston where I truly thought, ‘I feel seen; I feel welcome; I feel like this is me in a store.’ So now when customers come in and tell me they feel that way, it is the biggest compliment,” says Striplin.
That sense of cheerful welcome is woven throughout The Tiny Tassel, from the inclusive apparel sizing to the accessible price point to the wide range of styles and colors. “I want customers to feel confident in who they are today and remind them to just show up and live fully,” says Striplin. V
Find your joy at The Tiny Tassel, 46 Spring St Unit B, Charleston, SC; thetinytassel.com
This story appears in our Summer 2025 issue.
