Uptown Westerville is a Place to Know How the Garden Grows! With Style!

Congratulations to Kriss Rogers of Outside Envy for her recent feature in The Columbus Dispatch's Shop Talk.

Click here to read the article.

Or... check it out right here:

SHOP TALK

A weekly chat with a store owner or clerk in central Ohio

Kriss Rogers
Thursday, April 10, 2008 6:55 AM

Kriss Rogers, owner of Outside Envy in Westerville
52, owner of Outside Envy, 15 N. State St., Westerville

Describe your store.
We say that we have accessories for any outdoor space, or any space where you want to create an outdoor atmosphere.

And you carry everything from garden sculptures and glass ornaments to candles.
It's an eclectic collection of unique gifts at affordable prices. . . . It's no fun if you can't afford it.
We've got tickets in the store that are $400 but also things that are $10. So there's something for everybody.

You opened in the fall -- near the end of gardening season -- so that you'd have a few months to get to know your customers and what they wanted before spring rolled around. Now that it's here, what have you found they want?
They love any kind of unique gift. . . . And categories? I think art glass and wind chimes have been strong.

They really like your area artists, too. Talk about Tammy Stewart's work, which you carry.
She's called the concrete gardener. She actually casts things in concrete, then paints them. (Rogers picks up a large, painted leaf that illustrates Stewart's work, then points to round oil lamps.) Her kind of signature pieces are these oil lamps.

You've spent years in retail, for places such as Schottenstein's and JCPenney. What do you like about owning a store?
Oh, gosh, . . . I think it's just -- it's fun. When you work in the corporate world, it's compartmentalized. I like the "whole picture" part of the job (in a gift store). You just see everything start to finish.

-- Kristy Eckert keckert@dispatch.com

TRY THIS: Dennis East wine-bottle-stopper candelabras ($7.50 to $14.50)

Outside Envy is a delightful oasis full of just very nice touches for home, patio, deck, and garden. And, a perfect place to buy memorable, thoughtful gifts for all occasions for friends and family... or yourself!

Stop by Outside Envy, 15 N. State St., on your next trip uptown.