Crystal Ferreira has become a familiar face in Hopkinsville since returning to her hometown in 2018 to pursue a number of business and civic roles that benefit the community.
While serving as operations and marketing manager for the Pennyroyal Arts Council, Ferreira also opened a women’s clothing shop, Charlotte’s on 6th, in September 2024 — and she continues today to hold down both jobs.
A graduate of the Focus 21st Century Minority Leadership Program and Leadership Hopkinsville-Christian County, she also devotes time to the Hopkinsville-Christian County Human Rights Commission, serving as the commission’s board chair this year.
A native of Hopkinsville, Ferreira spent time in Southern California while she was married to a man serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. While there, she worked in a variety of commercial and retail jobs, including at a department store, a custom window-coverings business and a wireless phone company.
Ferreira said she worked in all aspects of retail sales and has “always been interested in owning her own business” because she loves working directly with customers.
Returning to Hopkinsville with her family in 1997, Ferreira enrolled at Hopkinsville Community College with a major in communications and journalism. She worked at the college newspaper and was editor of The Round Table literary journal. Ferreira took poetry and creative writing classes with Brett Ralph, a professor English, who inspired her love for poetry.
Ferreira worked a part-time job at Hopkinsville’s television station, TV-43, and her “dream at that time was to be a television news anchor.”
She says, “I am very eclectic in what I like to do, and I love to experience all kinds of things.”
In addition, Ferreira hopes to publish a book in the drama/thriller genre, which she has been working on for more than 10 years.
Ferreira was raising three sons when the family moved from Hopkinsville a second time so her husband could attend the University of Louisville. Among several jobs, she worked at the UofL and as a health insurance agent.
She also ran an event planning business that focused on spoken-word poetry showcases. Each showcase had a theme and often included live music entertainment. Among her favorite events was one called, “Music, Masquerades and Metaphors.”
Her marriage ended while living in Louisville, and Ferreira became a single mom. After her youngest son graduated from high school in 2018, she returned to Hopkinsville to help take care of her grandmother and other family members. She immediately “wanted to get involved and be a true leader in the community.”
That desire led to her participation in the two leadership classes and serving with the Human Rights Commission.
She graduated from the Hopkinsville-Christian County Leadership Class in May, and says the experience taught her how local government, schools, medical facilities and law enforcement operate in this city. She now has an understanding that many local “problems and issues are complicated to fix” and that there are a lot of people working behind the scenes to address community concerns. She recommends the leadership class program for everyone.
Ferreira became a Pennyroyal Arts Council board member, and after working at Jennie Stuart Medical Center and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, she took a job as operations and marketing manager for the arts council in November 2023.
Her focus in that position is sharing information with the public about the shows and programs at the Alhambra Theatre. She says the “staff has such a passion for the arts” and “we have so many dreams and goals to be fulfilled.”
Although she had not planned to open a business in Hopkinsville, Ferreira decided she wanted to keep a store open for women to shop locally for fashion after she learned that owner Janey Moss was closing her 6th Street Boutique after eight years in business.
Ferreira rented the boutique building, a beautifully preserved, century-old structure, from Moss and named the new shop for her first granddaughter, Charlotte.
She admits there was a learning curve in getting to know the demographics of her clientele and navigating the process of purchasing items at market and from suppliers.
She says she learned her customers’ needs and wishes by treating each person like a member of her own family. Since retail businesses generally order their merchandise a year in advance, she has to rely upon the recommendations of designers and vendors to decide what items will be popular when they are delivered to the shop.
One of the joys she has experienced in running the clothing store is that her former mother-in-law has been willing to staff the shop for her a couple of days each week.
Through the shop, Ferreira is able to experience the things she is most drawn to — the arts, creativity, fashion and having personal contact with customers. She has enhanced these interests and showcased her talents by taking steps to become familiar with the needs and challenges of the local community.
The store is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Julia Crenshaw is an attorney at White, White & Crenshaw in Hopkinsville. She lives on a farm in Todd County with her husband John. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.
