Retail Roundup: Think global, act local

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Arts & Culture

Whether it’s a special focus on Lexington-centric items, inventory that’s all Kentucky-made, or a mission to support artisans in developing countries, these shops all put a unique spin on the “think global, buy local” concept.

As longtime supporters of the Local First Lexington initiative, which touts the advantages of shopping local, we at Smiley Pete Publishing encourage our readers to patronize the one-of-a-kind independent businesses that help make Lexington unique – especially during this most “shoppingest” time of the year. On the following pages, we’ve highlighted three recently opened (or recently altered) businesses that are not only great stops for holiday gifts, but also places where shoppers can easily check any “buyer’s remorse” they might have at the door. Local First Lexington is a great resource to discover locally owned businesses that carry whatever you might be looking for. Visit www.localfirstlexington.com for more information and a full list of member businesses.

MADE KY

New Distillery District shop takes “Shop Local” a step further, with an inventory that’s all Kentucky-made

Located in Lexington’s historic distillery district on Manchester Street, MADE KY is a new retail shop offering items handcrafted solely by Kentucky artists. Owner Stacey Chinn has wanted to open a place like this for much of her artistic life, which began at a very young age.

“My first-grade teacher said that I was going to be an artist,” said Chinn. “She told my mom that.”

Handmade items in the store include coffee mugs, clay pots, jewelry, neck ties, knitted hats, canvas photographs and more. While the shop does include products by artists in the Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen, Chinn is gearing it more toward art produced by less-known artists.

“There’s a lot of nice creativity and well-crafted work being crafted in this state, and a lot of people don’t know about it,” said Chinn, a Lexington native.

Chinn’s goal with MADE KY is to simply get these homemade items out to the general public on a daily basis, not just at the occasional art fair or through an online platform such as Etsy.

An email newsletter Chinn sent out states that, “You can’t buy love, but you can buy handmade, and that’s kind of the same thing.”

This philosophy goes hand in hand with Chinn’s feelings regarding the value of handcrafted work.

“I think it enriches lives,” Chinn said. “For me, I’d rather drink my morning coffee out of a cup that I know somebody has made and put their energies and care or talents into it than getting something for sale at Wal-Mart. It makes the experience of drinking coffee in your daily routine better, which makes your life better, and I’m trying to sort of educate the public.

“It’s much better to hold something like that, and it gives you a real connection with the community too,” she added.

Chinn describes MADE KY as an organic, evolving business. In the works right now are plans for various workshops and artistic demonstrations, taught by both her and guest artists, that will be available to the public. Chinn has experience teaching at both the University of Kentucky and Georgetown College as an adjunct professor.

Chinn’s own artistic abilities range from metal work and welding to fibers, clay and wood, though she describes herself as a jack of all trades and a master of none.

“It’s my addiction: making things, creating things, thinking of things,” she said. “I love the process of clay and wood and creating with my hands.”

When Chinn first told others she was going to open a store to showcase Kentucky artists, there were some naysayers, but she decided to pursue her plan because she wanted people to experience art, not just purchase it.

“People asked me, ‘Are you really going to open a bricks-and-mortar store?’” she said. “‘Do you really have to do that?’ Yes, I do. I want people to come in and touch and feel and see; you know, get the experience, not just type an order in online.”

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High Street Fly

Owner of Woodland Triangle boutique Calypso opens new Chevy Chase area store honoring Lexington

Don’t let the fact that she owns Calypso Boutique, which offers a bevy of stylish dresses, and other feminine clothes and accessories, fool you — Ann-Michael McCallister-Rawlings has always been a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl.

“I’ve mostly worn clothes from Goodwill all my life,” she said.

All this falls right in line with why she opened her new store, High Street Fly, described by McCallister-Rawlings as “very Lexington, Kentucky” and more androgynous and gender-neutral than its East Maxwell counterpart, Calypso.

“[Men] feel 100 percent more comfortable in here, and that was one of the goals,” she said.

Located on High Street, right next door to Chevy Chase Hardware, High Street Fly opened on Oct. 28. McCallister-Rawlings hopes the shop will present a casual, relaxed atmosphere that caters more to the jeans and T-shirt crowd, though it also has some other offerings, including boots and bags.

The store already has T-shirts promoting local businesses and organizations, including Country Boy Brewing and WRFL, and it hopes to get many more.

Shirts promoting Lexington and Kentucky can also be found on display, some of them accompanied by designs of the state’s outline and a mention of the year it was founded – 1782.

One idea McCallister-Rawlings hopes to pursue is a line of shirts celebrating the neighborhoods of Lexington, from Kenwick to Southland to Chevy Chase and beyond.

High Street Fly is still new, and McCallister-Rawlings said it may need some time for the locally supportive concept to come full circle, but she’s confident that in due time she’ll have more local offerings, including some licensed University of Kentucky basketball apparel.

Though McCallister-Rawlings originally saw Calypso heading down this route, she ultimately decided to stay true to what Calypso had become and to instead devote this concept to a new store altogether.

“I let [Calypso] grow in the direction the client took it,” she said. “I don’t think I would still be in business had I not done what the client wanted, so it became more of a feminine, girly, party-dress thing.”

Once she saw a “For Rent” sign in the window of the small shop on High Street, the decision was rather easy.

“I was at Morris [Book Shop] buying an anniversary book for my husband, and I just noticed this was for rent,” she said. “That hardware store is the coolest retail store I have ever seen in my life, and Morris is probably one of the coolest bookstores I’ve ever seen. I feel like what I’m doing fits right in.”

Her love for fashion started at a very young age, as both of her grandmothers were seamstresses who would conceptualize some of her patchwork and other ideas, but what manifests itself even more during the early stages and future plans of High Street Fly is her extensive appreciation for Kentucky.

“I love Lexington and Chevy Chase,” she said. “I grew up in western Kentucky, and I’ve actually never lived outside of Kentucky. I’m just super proud of my state and proud of my city.”

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Lucia's World Emporium

New name and location, same world-friendly goods and focus

As of Oct. 5, Lucia’s World Friendly Boutique has changed its name and location. Formerly on High Street in the Woodland Triangle, the store now resides at 328 North Ashland, at the intersection of National Avenue in the Kenwick neighborhood, with a new name that still evokes its emphasis on global goods: Lucia’s World Emporium.

Lucia’s also has a wholesale side of the business called Lucia’s Imports, which has not changed its name since being founded in 2005. It too has moved to the new location on North Ashland.

Owner Teresa Hendricks said they moved because their wholesale business was growing, and they were running out of space.

Despite the changes, Hendricks assures much about the shop remains the same, including its continued commitment to purchase goods from other Fair Trade Federation sources, which work directly with artisans in developing countries to ensure fair treatment and wages.

Tacked on to the store’s new name is the subtitle “A Fair Trade Establishment,” reiterating that commitment.

“It’s a way to make a difference around the world,” Hendricks said. “It’s a little difference — you can buy a coin bag made in China or you can buy a coin bag that was made by an artisan.”

Less than a week after opening at the new location, Hendricks traveled to Guatemala, where she had lived for 12 years after graduating from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and where she was able to see the local artisans continue to work on their craft.

“There’s very little economic opportunity for them to have a job or get their products to a market,” she said. “So it’s a means of helping them get their products out into a bigger world.”

Hendricks opened the Lucia’s on High Street in 2007, a carryover from when she ran a retail store in Guatemala from 1989 to 2004. Despite a familiarity with Guatemalan goods, the current store also sells items from India, Nepal and Haiti, among other places.

The store has a wide variety of eco-friendly products made from recycled textiles, from coin bags to headbands, scarves, purses and baby blankets (made from recycled Indian saris).

When Hendricks was in the ninth grade, her mother took her to Mexico. It was there that she first saw these types of artisan products that would eventually inspire her to open a retail store.

Hendricks is enthusiastic about the neighborhood Lucia’s now calls home, with businesses in the surrounding area continually popping up and succeeding.

Though Hendricks’s initial plan was to wait until Christmas to open up the new shop, she ultimately decided back in July that she wanted it open as soon as possible, with the hopes of being comfortably settled in come the holiday season.

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“It’s a great place to get a gift,” said Hendricks. “Christmastime, people come in here and they can be in here for an hour or two hours and just thoughtfully pick out gifts for each and every one of their loved ones.”

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