Eight years ago when I told the owner of a local shop I frequented in Fayetteville, where we lived at the time, that we were moving to Little Rock, he immediately had a suggestion for where to find my new happy fix. "There's this spot on South Main," he said excitedly. "There's Boulevard Bread so you can get lunch, and then on the other end there's Green Corner Store (which is like eco living, great stuff) and they have a Loblolly ice-cream counter so there's dessert for you, and then in the middle is Moxy. You'll love Moxy." He was right.
While they initially set out to be a spot to find vintage and industrial home decor, owners Jon Estelita and Lara Kahler soon realized that people only go into a furniture store if they're shopping for furniture, and began responding to customer requests. First a stationery section. Then bath items, then kitchen goods, and so on. The shop now carries vintage pieces, stationery, puzzles and games, soaps, candles, kitchen wares, t shirts, jewelry, soft toys and books for littles - reasonably priced, as local as possible, and with an overarching funky vintage vibe. A giant chicken sculpture (currently appropriately masked) presides over the shop from the back, and a corgi or a cat might greet you at the door.
When it became apparent last spring that the pandemic wasn't going away anytime soon, they got to work setting up a website and altering their window display to include a dizzying selection of puzzles for every age and interest level, an eye-catching shop's worth packed into a spot visible from the street. Jon was already rearranging the shop regularly, to keep things fresh and interesting, and putting his heart into creating engaging displays. "It's like painting a painting or making a sculpture," he says. "Then, standing back and watching people interact with it brings me tremendous joy." The experience is curated just as carefully as the items for sale. "I'm putting on a party," he says. "I'm selecting the music, the ambiance, the merchandise - and I'm putting on a party for [the customer]." Walking down the street, Moxy does draw you in, and makes you want to stay and wander.
There's a strongly collaborative spirit among all of the shops on South Main - they make an effort to not stock items from the same vendors, to each maintain their own unique feel, and to celebrate each other's wins. As Jon says, "The competition isn't competition - it's enhancement." The Fayetteville shop owner who sent me their way definitely picked up on that, including Moxy as part of an experience and not as an interesting island in a sea of rivals.
Whether I'm looking for a gift for someone else or an item for myself, Moxy is one of my first stops - if I don't find the object I'm looking for, I'll always find one I didn't know I needed, and that's honestly just a nice extra after dancing, laughing, and leaving with a great mood-boost. And that is ultimately their goal. "It's incredibly fulfilling to know that coming into my store, someone leaves happier," Jon says. "Retail is not about numbers, it's about generating a clientele, a persona, an atmosphere. Because nothing that brings you joy can be about you. It has to be about someone else - that's how that works." And it definitely works for Moxy!
Comments