TUCSON, Ariz. -- COVID has caused some businesses to close and others, like Eastland Alley Design Company, to reinvent themselves to stay open.
Kimberly Neal and Theresa Lambert are the co-owners of this shop, which was named after the street they grew up on here in Tucson.
“Everyone said 2020 was going to be a year of vision, and it had to be because you couldn’t see through this year,” Neal told KGUN9.
When you walk in you’ll see lots of candles, clothing, jewelry, and decor.
However, Lambert says it didn’t start off this way.
“The hub of our business has always been design, we started out in weddings and events and with COVID , everything was shut down right away,” added Lambert.
“In addition to closing our doors, we had to move all of our events. Some got canceled, some moved to the Spring and the Fall,” said Neal
“Your initial response is to just get into the fetal position and just stay there, but that’s not an option so we really had to go full throttle and get creative,” Lambert told KGUN9.
So they shifted their sales strategy.
“We now have a candle line that we make in house. It focuses on all of the local hot-spots,” Lambert said.
“So local landmarks like Mt. Lemmon, San Xavier,” added Neal.
The co-owners say the impact of shopping locally can make all the difference.
“When you shop local, you support a dream. You support families, a two year old, a four year old, a six week old and two working mamas who are here working all the time..” Lambert told KGUN9.
“Honestly because we are in the middle of a pandemic, these times, right now, dictate where we are going to be in the next year,” added Neal.
Lambert says the Eastland and Alley Design Company is their heart and soul.
So should it close during the pandemic….
“It’s going to be hard, but...it’s not going to go away because we’re going to power through it,” Lambert told KGUN9.
“We’re going to push through, but we do need the community, we do need the people, we need our shoppers,” added Neal.
There will be a Small Business Saturday event tomorrow, throughout Tucson where you can go shop and support local businesses-- like Eastland Alley Design Company. For more information on that, click here.
