Image of Christine Sharp-Crowe by Dawn Thackray
It’s time once again to give a huge shout-out to our great Prairie Hive sponsors! We’re featuring our Winter Issue sponsors each week this month in sponsored blog posts to highlight their uniqueness to Tulsa and showcase what they do best — help us create.
This week it’s made: the indie emporium shop. We’ve featured made and its founder Christine Sharp-Crowe, many times before because it’s one of our favorite places to shop. Christine also founded one of our favorite annual Tulsa events — Indie Emporium. It’s so successful that even movie stars like Juliette Lewis stop by the show these days!
Christine and her husband, Thom Crowe, opened the first shop at 501 S. Boston Ave. last year, and most recently they opened a second store in Tulsa’s Pearl District, 1317 East 6th St.
The Pearl District store grand opening. Image via Casey Hanson
Shoppers lined up outside before the grand opening! Image via Casey Hanson
Here’s what Christine has to say about her new adventure in our Q&A:
Prairie Hive: Tell us about your second location in the Pearl District!
Christine: Our new location in the Pearl District is about twice as big as the downtown shop, giving us space for more handmade lovelies and a little more freedom as far as having classes and events. The space we are located in is shared with The Creative Room, a new co-working space for creatives. By working with them, we have the option for classroom space that will provide more DIY workshops. The space was formerly a woodworking shop, and we are thrilled with the way our space turned out after a few months of working on it.
PH: Why did you choose this area in Tulsa for your location?
Christine: We’ve been drawn to the area for a few years! We set up a pop up shop on Sixth Street, a few years ago during a revitalization effort for the area put on by Tulsa’s Young Professionals. We really loved the area and see a lot of potential, especially with all of the young creatives who are opening businesses and flocking to the district. There are so many exciting things happening in the Pearl and we are just thrilled to be a part of it.
PH: What are some of your favorite gift ideas from your stores?
Christine: Calendars from Little Things Studio: We’re the only shop in Oklahoma that carries her work. We adore her, and everything she makes, so we just can’t say enough good things about her! Scarves: We’ve got knit, crochet, t-shirt, and sewn silky scarves — so there’s a scarf for everyone on your gift list. We even have kid cowls from Peanut & Pistachio!
T shirts: We’ve got shirts from lots of local vendors. Some of our favorites t shirt designs this year are from Passive Juice Motel, especially their Honest Abe and Davy Crocket designs.
And of course, jewelry and artwork always are always good gift choices and we have lots to choose from!
PH: What’s been the most surprising part about starting your own business?
Christine: Having a store has definitely been an adjustment. My other business, weather&noise has taken a backseat as I’ve gotten the store running and I didn’t get to travel to any of the craft shows where I’ve shown before. Now that we’ve got employees at made, I’m excited to get back to working on my own product line and introducing a bunch of new prints that have been floating around in my mind.
PH: What have you learned about Tulsa by being a local business owner?
Christine: I’ve learned how incredibly supportive our lovely community is in Tulsa. We have faithful group of people who attend each of our events and come to the shop regularly. It warmed my heart that at our grand opening party, we had a line of people down the sidewalk before we opened! They were excited to come check out the new shop and spend their hard-earned dollars supporting not only my little business, but also each of the artists whose items we carry in the shop. I’ve also learned how many creative people we have in our fair city! Almost daily a new artist comes into the shop to show us their work and see if it would be a good fit for our us. We are so excited to live in such a supportive community of artists and makers!
For more, visit their Facebook page.
This is a paid advertised blog post. For more about Prairie Hive’s ad rates, click here!
Kim A
Kim is a public relations pro by day, homebody by night. Kim worked as a newspaper features writer for more than a decade and she has written hundreds of stories on others' homes. But she is still discovering her own style. Kim and her husband are renovating their late-1950s home, making it their own. For Kim, staying home is a destination. She frequently entertains friends and family, so keeping it simple and comfortable is important (with the exception of her closets – her shopping and bargain-hunting habits take up some serious space). Kim’s perfect place is snuggled up in her PJs eating a homemade meal in front of the TV with her husband.
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