HOLLYWOOD — Brande Clay has always liked the convenience of shopping for her family’s clothing in one store, rather than going store to store in a mall. The problem was finding a store with the right selection of men’s, women’s, boys’, girls’ and baby’s clothing and accessories.

She solved the problem by opening a store of her own.

 Skyz The Limit Clothing in Hollywood carries something for everyone in a wide selection of urban wear, shoes, handbags and jewelry.

“I’ve always liked fashion; I went to The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for fashion design,” said Clay, a single mother of five. “I’ve made traditional clothing and patchwork for my kids, and I wanted to try nontraditional fashion.”

Her children keep her busy, so she hasn’t had time to finish her studies yet, but Clay plans to go back to school and get her degree in fashion merchandising.

Owning a store is a labor of love. She has grown accustomed to keeping up with paperwork, buying new inventory each season and figuring out how to sell last season’s fashions.

“It’s always hard to know what people will like and what sizes to get,” Clay said. “In fashion, everything is in and out so quickly it’s hard to figure it out.”

Although Clay had never owned a business before, or worked in a retail clothing store, she created Skyz The Limit herself. Growing up, she didn’t have the means to shop for the latest styles as often as she wanted and mostly wore hand-me-down clothing.

“I’m not brand loyal,” she said. “If I like something and I know it looks good, I’ll buy it. Younger kids today are all about the brand.”

At Skyz The Limit, plus sizes and children’s clothes are the biggest sellers, so Clay plans to stick with what customers want.

The store has a Facebook page, and plans for a website are in development.

“My whole life has been raising my kids, but I squeezed in some college and some jobs,” Clay said. “I didn’t know I could do this, but it’s an accomplishment to put a store together from scratch.”

Clay is fortunate to have a helping hand in the store. Her mother, Cheri Paikin, comes in and stocks the store with jewelry for a business within a business called Rock-ur-Style. The in-store boutique, which features one-of-a-kind pieces, came to be after people noticed the bold pieces Paikin wore to work.

“People loved the jewelry, so I started buying more and selling it,” said Paikin, a former Tribal employee.

The handcrafted jewelry is made of sterling silver with precious and semi-precious stones. Prices range from $2 to $700. When Paikin’s jewelry source passed away, his heirs sold her the inventory because she was such a good customer.

“I bought it all,” Paikin said. “I have thousands of pieces, enough to fill the store completely. I like to have unusual pieces, from very delicate to chunky. They are perfect for gifts.”

The mother-daughter duo fashioned a store with something for everyone, and they did it in a challenging economic time. Although she didn’t get any advice before opening, Clay knows any motivated person can succeed in business.

“If someone really wants to open a business, anyone can do it,” she said. “I named my store Skyz The Limit because it’s a positive term. You can do anything you put your mind to.”

Skyz The Limit is located at 4860 S. State Road 7 in Hollywood, just south of Griffin Road in the La Granja shopping plaza. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 12-6 p.m. For more information, call 954-804-5749 or email BranClay27@aol.com.