We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Casey Simmons a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Casey, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I miss travel and leisurely meals. I think I could have been a good travel and food writer, blogger, or created a social media travel channel. Discovering new stuff is my passion. Meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, sharing ideas, trying new things, and collecting interesting stuff makes be happy. I daydream about being “on the move”, and finding myself in unexpected places. I crave authenticity. I am good story teller. So, I often think about heading out into the wild blue yonder.

So, much of what draws me to being a travel and/or food writer is part of my every day career… but, it keeps in one place. Co-owning a retail store makes if hard to be gone too often or for long periods of time. Businesses that are open to the public need daily attention. You can’t predict what will happen each day, you don’t pick who walks thru the door, so, you have to be ready to adjust to what comes to you.

There are days I dream of putting up a “be back soon-ish” sign and walking towards the horizon.

Casey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Casey Simmons. I am a co-owner of a store named STUFF. My sister and I have worked together for over 35 years. We started as consultants in a family-own firm. We fell in love with art, creative goods, and the artists that make stuff. We traveled a lot for our work before the store was opened. We kept finding unexpected finds that we brought home. People always wanted to know where they could get stuff like we found. That was a turning point for us. We started to think about…what if? What if we could bring the stuff we love to Kansas City and gather up the stuff in Kansas City that was hard to find. The rest if history…

Here is more of our story:

a store named STUFF is an artistic lifestyle store. The STUFF Sisters. We represent fine artists, handmade creators and small batch makers and creators. They sell work by local, regional, national, and international artists. They have a jury process to select makers that create one-of-a-kind, handmade, original, unique, inspirational, clever, artistic, innovative, eclectic and witty collectible, decorative and functional art.

The STUFF Sisters – Casey Simmons and Sloane Simmons – are the creative force behind a store named STUFF. This small business has grown since they first propped the door open. But, if you ask the sisters how they feel about getting bigger over the years, they answer, “We don’t think about bigger, we focus on ‘people not product’. Being better every year is our goal.”

Since a store named STUFF began in the late 1990s, it has grown into one of the most well-known and respected businesses in the handmade gallery industry. The store now offers work from over 300 hundred artistic sources. At that time the sisters insisted on not being called “a gallery”. At that time, the term “art gallery” didn’t fit. Yes, they represented fine artists and fine crafters from the region and beyond. But they weren’t “stuffy” – pun intended. They aimed to be accessible, approachable, open every day, energetic, friendly, open-minded, hip, current, and fashionable, and they wanted to create a space of everyone. Now, the term “gallery” conjurs many ideas. They have finally adopted their rightful place as a gallery.

One of the most notable parts of this small but well-loved family business is their commitment to the community. They have an expansive program that supports local charities, schools, and not-for-profit organizations. Sloane Simmons and Casey Simmons both serve on community organization boards of directors and have committed time, expertise, and money to over a hundred charities.

They have grown to be an award-winning business – proud to have been nominated for eight consecutive years as being one of the top galleries and stores in America that feature Fine American Craft, and honored as one of Kansas City’s Top 25 Small Businesses. Their awards include ethics in business awards and other notable recognitions.

Today, Kansas City – like most cities in the United States – is filled with the new generation of art galleries. a store named STUFF has most definitely evolved, too. But their roots, their mission, and their vision have remained the same – to make art accessible to anyone and everyone, every day.

So…is a store named STUFF an art gallery? Damned skippy it is! And it is a store, an experience, a family of artists, a team of great staff, a local boutique, a destination shop, a hangout, and a place online to find the stuff that makes your home, life and gift giving memorable.

Open 5 days a week, all year in Kansas City. Open 365 days a year online. This is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

We have spent 25 years being turned down by banks for financing. No matter how long we are in business and how successful the business becomes, banks are not willing to loan us money. We have sat through meetings filled with blatant sexism…”What do your husbands do?” Meetings filled with insults…”It must be nice to share a hobby with your sister.” And then there is collateral…no matter our company’s worth, they want us (or our family) to put up collateral that more than totals the loan amounts…tying up equity and/or cash flow. We have been our only investors and our own “bank” for 26 years. It inhibits growth. Women in retail find it almost impossible to fund their businesses.

We have continue to defy the odds and find ways to finance our own dream business. It is difficult and sometimes crushing, but we take a break and deep breath and power on.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I met my business partner the day I was born. She met me when she was three. We are sisters. Working with family has its own unique challenges and benefits. It is not for everyone, but it works for us. The best part is the inside jokes that make us laugh so hard we cry. And, when we have met seemingly impossible challenges our stress tears turn to laughter. You feel invincible when you can turn tears into laughter and you can laugh at the worst of times…together.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.astorenamedstuff.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astorenamedstuff/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/astorenamedSTUFF
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-simmons-41b47587/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/STUFFpursuegoodstuff
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-store-named-stuff-kansas-city