Anomaly 5-Points

Anomaly in 5-Points is the second retail stop of our Urban Jacksonville shopping series. Mackenzie talked with the owner Emily Moody and asked her a few questions about Anomaly. I really like Emily’ philosophy on what makes Anomaly unique. Also I am a dork for not posting this before today because they had a huge event last night. Here’s what Emily has to say about local designers and Anomaly’s top selling labels:

Mackenzie: What do you specialize in?
Emily: Anomaly specializes in carrying unique clothing, jewelry, and accessories from smaller, independent companies that no one else in Jacksonville— and sometimes Florida— carries. We are about 80% women’s clothes, jewelry, and accessories, and 20% men’s jeans, shirts (tees, polos, and dress shirts), jackets, hoodies, and other accessories (wallets, cuffs, hats etc.).

Mackenzie: Do you carry any local designers?
Emily: We carry all kinds of local designers. Garden Variety, Joey Temptation, I do handbags when I have time, as well as children’s wear under the label Wee Chic. We are ALWAYS interested in other local designers, but their follow through isn’t always as professional and so the ones that actually deliver a great quality product are hard to find.

Mackenzie: What makes your store unique?
Emily: Anomaly is unique because we truly sell things that you aren’t going to find anywhere else. We are always seeking out new and cool lines to carry. Also, for a boutique, we are unique in that, quite frankly, we are not a very pricey store, and that is something we consciously try to focus on. Our goal is to keep all items under $100. (and most are under $50!) What’s the point of fashion if only super rich people can afford it?

Also, we always try to make connections with our customers and be friendly and approachable. No one likes stores where you go in and feel like the people who work there are judging you for not being cool enough to shop there or something. Personally, as consumers we don’t want to spend our hard earned money somewhere where we are treated rudely. That is insulting, and we do our best to always make customers happy and excited to be in our store.

Mackenzie: What is your best seller right now?
Emily: Right now we don’t really have one line specifically that sells really well for us, it’s kind of all over the board… But some great sellers include for men: VIGOSS jeans (great denim at a great price… all under $78), Threadless tees and No Star tees. For the ladies: Soundgirl and BB Dakota are reasonably priced lines that don’t compromise quality or style as well as jewelry from By Boe.

Mackenzie: Any events coming up?
Emily: Thursday Dec. 14th we’re having our annual customer appreciation night. We’re doing 20% off your entire purchase, plus you get a special gift from us! That night we are also kicking off our formal wear drive that will go through from now through prom season. We are collecting gently used dresses/shirts/ties/shoes for underprivileged teens across Duval County.

Fashion can occasionally get a little too superficial and we are hoping to remind our customers that just a few miles (even mere blocks) from the store there are people who are struggling just to live. Hopefully this will remind We are especially focusing on donating to The Bridge of Northeast Florida, PACE center for girls, and Jacksonville Urban League. Depending on how many items we can collect we are going to either be inviting the teens out to the store for private shopping nights to come pick out their clothing or we’re just going to donate the items directly to the organizations.

Mackenzie: Anything else you’d like readers to know about Anomaly?
Emily: Please support local businesses! As residents of Springfield and business owners in 5 Points, we do all we can to never shop at chains— whether it be clothing, food, restaurants, or whatever. Obviously, some things you have to go to chains for (groceries— sorry but Food Plus or whatever on 7th street just doesn’t cut it for us 99% of the time), but supporting local businesses creates culture and a sense of neighborhood.

When we were growing up here, 5 Points was the absolute, drop-dead coolest place in town to us because of places like the Theory Shop, Edge City, and Now Hear This, all small businesses. Also, we love Springfield, and hope to see some of your readers around the neighborhood. If you come into the store, tell us you live in our ‘hood! Also we both have to say that we read Urban Jacksonville everyday and love all the hard work Joey puts into the site!

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 15th, 2006 at 9:57 am and is filed under Five Points, Interview, Retail, Riverside. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.