 |
OYSTER POINTER is a monthly publication about business in the Oyster Pointer area of Newport News, VA. More About the Oyster Pointer Publication Submit Your Ideas and Thoughts “Oyster Pointer Salutes:” Archives Request
a copy of the Oyster Pointer Publication |
| “Oyster
Pointer Salutes:” Archives
It happens to the best of us. You know, when you set out on that all too familiar hunt for the perfect gift but are constantly disappointed because all the stores seem to carry the same old stuff. You hope deep down that somewhere there is a shop that has shelves stocked with fresh and wonderful items, special items that will have people talking. Well, that place recently opened in Newport News. Really. It’s called Jo Louise. And it is a sight to behold for shopping junkies. Take one step into the store, off Styron Square in Port Warwick, and prepare to let out a sigh and scream out “Finally.” No more trips to hip stores in Richmond or New York are required. The store, owned by longtime local retailer Jo Harding, is awash in bright colors, original artwork, and loads of cool merchandise. The walls, painted blue, pink, yellow, and green, set the tone. Harding’s marvelous talent of artistically displaying her goods makes the shopping experience a pleasure. “I want people to feel happy,” Harding says. “I want them to feel better when they leave than when they come through the door.” The store is named Jo Louise because Harding’s longtime friend and Port Warwick neighbor Sydney Meers, owner of Cowboy Syd’s, has dug into his southern roots and tacked “Louise” onto all his friend’s names. He affectionately calls Harding “Jo Louise,” hence the name of her shop. Harding, who is thrilled about being in Port Warwick, has created her dream store. “I finally got to do what I have always wanted to do,” says Harding, who calls herself the “chick-in-charge.” She is excited about how it has come together, and the reaction she has seen in shoppers when they walk in. They tell her they have been searching for a store like this for a long time. “They say ‘it’s nice to see it in Newport News. I usually have to go to Virginia Beach or somewhere else,’” she says. Harding’s goal, she says, is to “try and find the really unusual.” In fact, the store’s catch phrase is “fun & fabulous & anything but square.” Much of what is in Jo Louise cannot be found in any other store in Virginia. When Harding goes to trade shows, she tends to frequent the tiny booths with unique offerings. A lot of her items are also purchased from local artists and vendors. “If you want something normal, go to the mall. If you want something different, come to Jo Louise!” she says. The store offers a huge variety of items, everything from Persian rugs and hand-painted furniture to girlfriend cookies, tea infusers, and funky purses that have become Harding’s calling card for many shoppers. In addition, there are amazing pieces of fun jewelry, like the very popular necklaces with a rhinestone flip-flop shoe hanging from it, cool martini glasses hand-painted with sunflowers, and wine glasses decorated with images of high heel shoes. On the walls, there are several original pieces of art for sale. There are also birdfeeders, clocks, hats, stained glass, bath products, and a line of hilarious refrigerator magnets. It would be hard not to find a gift here. The prices run a wide range, with many of the items being very affordable. Harding laughs as she says her goal is to “change the world one house at a time.” It’s fair to say that if all houses were decorated at Jo Louise, the world would be a much more whimsical, animated, and colorful place to live. Harding is no stranger to the business world. For years, she was an owner of House Dressing, a more conservative shop in Hilton Village. Bobby Freeman, Port Warwick creator, convinced Harding to open in his development, an offer she called “very flattering,” and impossible to pass up. “I knew this was the up and coming place,” she says. She is also an interior and landscape designer. Needless to say, Harding’s head is bursting with ideas and concepts to make the world prettier and happier. And she wants to pass them on to local shoppers. Jo Louise not only offers different types of goodies, but it also provides wonderful services. All gifts are wrapped in Harding’s trademark black bag with colorful—or polka dotted—tissue paper. And for husbands or boyfriends who are shopping-challenged, Harding has just the service. When women come in, she offers them a wish list card. They fill it out, making sure to write down important dates like birthdays and anniversaries and the name and phone number of their significant others. When the time is right, Harding makes the call, telling the husband or boyfriend exactly what his love wants as a gift. That, she says, has been a huge success. With a smile, Harding repeats a hysterical conversation she had with a husband of one of her shoppers. It is obvious that Harding adores what she’s doing. There is no doubt that she feels at home here, that Port Warwick was the perfect setting for her newest endeavor. “We were the pioneers,” she says. “We took a risk. I already like it. I feel so happy in here.” |
Oyster
Pointer Salutes: JO
LOUISE: Shop brings color, fun to Port
Warwicky