After 18 months of running a pop-up shop at 1435 Grandview Avenue, State of Devotion is making the leap into a full time brick and mortar store, just a few doors down at 1399 Grandview Avenue. The popular local shirt designer and retailer is planning to launch the new location on Saturday, August 29th to coincide with the monthly Grandview Hop event.
We spoke recently with State of Devotion owner Jim Jackson to find out more about the new store. Our Q&A with him can be found below:
Q: Can you tell us a bit about how the pop-up location has been received since opening in 2014?
A: The pop-up store was very well received and the feedback was really positive. The location allowed for a movable partition wall that could be pushed back as space was needed and within six months it was as far back as it could go. The store was an excellent opportunity to get our feet wet in a brick and mortar space outside of the consignment store and wholesale scene. It also allowed us to better connect with the community that we live and work in by mentoring in the schools, sponsoring activities and partnering with local businesses. Having that physical location as a tie-in really resonates with people and we’re proud of our commitment to the area.
Q: What lessons have you learned from the pop-up shop that you hope to apply to the store?
A: Always have extra inventory on hand so your products and variants are stocked at all times. The customer generally doesn’t know or care that you have back-to-back events this weekend or that you have other obligations. When they see something they like, they want it and if you miss that sales opportunity it’s very hard to get it back.
Q: Any new products in the works for the new location?
A: We get a ton of requests for women’s apparel, so that’s a given. We are also going to double-down on our youth apparel, spirit wear and handmade items as well as some new and unique products yet-to-be announced. The new location is much larger, giving us a chance to stretch our creative legs while we continue to work with a few select local vendors to round out the selection.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: We just entered our fourth year of business and while we’re right where we wanted to be on the three-to-five year plan, we’re still just getting started. The new space has a lot of room for expansion and the goal is to consolidate our production to one location and eventually let the customer interact with that side of the business.
We are also keeping our old space! Our family has bought and sold antiques and collectibles for nearly fifty years so the old space will transition to that type of business once State of Devotion has moved out.
For more information, visit www.stateofdevotion.com.