Retail Therapy: Confessions of a Small-Town Shopkeeper

The Shopkeeper’s Diary, Entry 01

As an artist and mother, nothing comes more naturally than taking the seed of an idea and birthing it into the physical world. The shiny glow of newness, the arrival of a bundle of sweet expectations, and the rush of all those feel-good chemicals are addictive. Ahhh, but after the grand opening introduction of the new baby comes the reality of parenting: the mountains of dirty diapers and sleepless nights. OK, maybe the dirty diapers don’t translate to opening a retail boutique, but there are other loads to carry.

It wasn’t that long ago that I used to drive past this building, look into the window, and think: this is one of the most visible spots in town, but it’s a terrible location for a business. There’s limited parking—dangerous to dart across traffic if you’re parked along the median—and the noise of passing log trucks, chicken-gut trucks, and massive tractors is deafening. But the dream of sitting between the hotel and the Tesla parking lot, on the same block as MOJO Gallery, was too alluring to pass up.

You see, our small town of Eufaula, Alabama, is one of many in the U.S. struggling to survive in a technological landscape that doesn’t seem to fit our collection of historic homes and traditional values. We are slow in the best sense of the word. We take the time to have a conversation with a stranger. But we are struggling to stay relevant in a digital microwave world.

And now here I sit, looking out the same window from the inside, settling into the ups and downs of retail. It’s a “wing and a prayer” kind of feeling, and I’ve decided to start writing about it so I can share this journey with you.

Because, you see, my motive isn’t to make a ton of money for retirement. It feels more like I’m betting on a dark horse—a long shot. I really do believe that towns like Eufaula will experience a rebirth in the American psyche: a return to the way things used to be, when people cared about each other, held each other accountable, lived from the heart, and found ways to get along despite their differences.