It's the shops, but more accurately, it's the people
Anne at Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, Knoxville |
I recently wrote a post about Morelock Music and I talked about how comfortable it feels as a place to just hang out. It's true, the shop is cool, and I do love music and musical instruments, but really, the places that I enjoy going most downtown are places, like Morelock's, where I will see familiar and friendly faces. In that post I mentioned Just Ripe and Union Avenue Books as two other examples.
There's another thought that occurred to me recently: I realized some of the places I really enjoy wouldn't necessarily be on my radar if Urban Woman didn't want to frequent them, but I've become fond of them, as well. I had this thought when I needed to pick up a couple of glasses to go with a set we bought at Bliss Home. It's a great store for home goods, but I'm not a big home goods kind of guy, necessarily.
Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, Knoxville |
So, if I'm not so big on home furnishing shopping trips, what gave me a spring in my step as I headed that way to buy my glasses? The same reason I ever have a spring in my step: people I enjoy. In this case, it is the store manager, Anne. Urban Woman and I got to know her early in our time as downtown residents and we each enjoy talking to her. Urban Toddler even seemed to be receptive and she's a hard one to win over.
Inside Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, Knoxville |
It was nearly two years before I put together that one of my other favorite people downtown, Matt at Downtown Wine, is her husband. By then I understood that it is the people inside the shops that make the shops worth going to. Knowing that you'll have a warm, friendly welcome and a smile when you enter is far more important than the items for sale. The merchandise is just a bonus. Go to Bliss Home and meet Anne and you will completely understand what I'm talking about.
Anne at Bliss Home |
Labels: 29 Market Square, Anne, Bliss Home, Downtown Knoxville, Downtown Knoxville Blogs, Knoxville Tennessee, knoxville tennessee blogs, Market Square
3 Comments:
Nice story.
How are the new ad sizes working for your blog? I click whenever an ad is relevant to me, which seems to be often lately. They're figuring out what I like.
Enjoyed this post. This past week we visited the Bliss location on Kingston Pike. It was a good visit and Cynthia was very friendly and nice. Love the store!
Hey Greg,
It's hard to say what has made a difference, but I made $100 the first 19 months and another $100 the next 3, so something has changed. I'm making some bigger changes soon to see if that helps.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home