The Other Side

Hi! Lindsay Zodrow here! For the past 9 ½ years, I have gotten to have the most incredible job, owning and operating a little handmade shop in the Plaza District. During that time, I watched OKC change from a place that people seemed to mutter out of embarrassment when asked where they were from to this incredible city that make us so proud. I also got to be heavily involved in the Plaza District and walking along as it became this incredible place for artists, musicians, writers, poets, and those that just need a place. I closed my shop in February of this year. I walk away from it very full with the incredible gift it was to run the shop and a deep sadness at a community that I am no longer directly a part of. Now I am just trying to figure out what the heck I am doing.

I was driving after dropping off my son at school after a long two week Spring Break, and I was suddenly struck with how normal this has become; how strangely normal it is to not drive to my store. Collected Thread was a handmade boutique that carried well-made jewelry, clothing, accessories, housewares, and baby goods. For the past 10 years, I have lived and breathed Collected Thread. My husband and I lived in the back of the shop for the first two years that the shop was open. Don’t worry, it was legal! The shop is zoned commercial/residential so there is a kitchen and bathroom in the space.  I raised both of my kids in the shop (there was a crib in the bathroom!). For the first 4 years, I worked at the shop during the day and worked at night at Cuppies and Joe, because I wasn’t paying myself yet. FOUR YEARS!! Cuppies was the greatest second job one could have, but 4 years is a long time to go after a passion project without getting paid. I worked open-to-close every day until my oldest son was born. On trips with my husband, we would spend a good amount of time checking out the local stores across the country, to see what they were doing right. My friends were local business owners. It was all we talked about.  In my free time, I served on the Plaza District board and worked really hard with a bunch of other people to try and make the district the incredible place that it is. I say all of this not to impress you, but to emphasize what I said earlier, that I lived and breathed this shop. 

So it is so weird to be on the other side of owning a shop. On one hand, it is really wonderful to not have to be there everyday from open to close, whether or not life has other demands or with sick kids in tow. And it is freeing to suddenly have all of this space in my head to be creative outside of the shop. Granted, I do have two little kids so there isn’t toooooo much free space in my head, but you get the idea. 

This newfound freedom is great, but it comes with an incredible cost. Beyond the fact that I freaking loved my job, and loved getting to do to it everyday, I lost a huge part of my community when I closed. It was my Third Place. It was where out of town friends knew they could find me. It was where I got to see the other Plaza business owners on a regular basis. It was where I got to meet other moms and lament about the struggles of motherhood. And it is where I was incredibly privileged to have people share their lives with me. I got to hear about bad days, months, and years. I got to celebrate new babies, new jobs, and new adventures. So many people come to a store for other reasons than to shop. They come to be seen and  be known, they come to try to get past a hard day, to get out of the house, to be inspired or simply for something to do. And I got to be that place for them. You cannot imagine what a special thing that was for me. THAT WAS MY JOB!

I like to think that our little shop was the type of place my husband and I would have visited if we were out-of-towners, seeking inspiration.

I say all of this for two reasons: One, so you kind of know who the heck is writing this blog. And Two, to remind you that there are people behind these local businesses. People who are passionate about what they do and who are giving it everything they’ve got. These people deserve and need our support. Without these gems, our city loses what is special. So choose the local pizza place instead of the chain, or go get your printer ink from the local toner refill place, or whatever! No one is asking you to never enter a chain again. Just try to incorporate local into your routine. Yes, sometimes it is a challenge and sometimes they won’t have what you are looking for, but I bet they would bend over backwards to get it for you if they can. And they are worth it. They are working so hard to make out city great and they deserve our support.