We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julie Mitchell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julie below.

Julie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

We live in a small rural town in Ohio and so when we would go to larger cities and see the fun quirky shops we would always say…”I wish Ashland had something like this!” So one day we decided we would try.

We knew we wanted something more than just a gift shop as we needed more “heart” around the idea. One day while coming up with names for this “new idea” we thought, what if it was more than just a shop but a way for people to give back with every purchase and so the “Shop with Purpose” part of our store was born. We figured the easiest way for this to happen was to have charity boxes at the check out so that our customers could chose a charity that they resonated with to support.

So now we had the plan and needed to take it a step further and so we talked to our Ashland Main Street director Sandra to see if she knew of any opening spaces in the future ( I was thinking a year out) and she said, “YES, I’ve got the perfect space for you.” We had about a month until we moved in. Gulp. So now, what is our store going to consist of?

My husband loves to make quirky things out of unexpected things so we had a nice assortment of those items (think a shelf made out of a volkswagon hood or a light made out of a industrial sized bread hook) mixed with fun eclectic finds i’d find at thrift stores and auctions. We met a vendor from Cleveland who makes candles out of tomato sauce cans that he donates the sauce to the homeless shelter. He also donates to suicide prevention and has a happy thought on each candle. We knew this was a perfect match for our mission. We then started finding more and more companies that had a “give back” mission, such as a Men’s bath and body line that gives back to Veterans, hair accessories and baby products that gave back meals with purchases and so we began our crazy adventure downtown.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Julie Mitchell and my family and I live in the small amish country town of Ashland, OH. We own a store in our little downtown called Fig and Oak. We are a unique gift/home decor boutique and every purchase at our store gives back in some way to various charities and or causes. I met my husband when I was 17 and we were married by the time I was 18 so now we have been married for 24 years. Yes, if you do the math, you will see I’m in my 40’s! 😉 My husband and I have always wanted to own a store but we always said “maybe someday” as we became young parents and life became very busy for us for a while with our two boys. Some day came once our kiddos were older and could help us make our dream become a reality. We knew from the very start we wanted to have something unique and something that would somehow give back to support charities as my dad had recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons. That is how Fig and Oak: Shop with Purpose was created.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Ashland is small but mighty! Our community is passionate about supporting one another however they can. Our downtown is making an awesome come back through rehabilitation of old buildings and opening new shops and restaurants. We had just finished the remodeling and renovations of our building and just starting to get into the swing of things at our new location when the pandemic hit. The same day our schools closed we were able to launch our website which truly kept us afloat during the shutdown. We were able to ship items, deliver orders to customers’ cars, and also offered a no-contact delivery option to help everyone feel safe while they continued to support us. We never worked harder but it kept us afloat during that crazy time! Now it is booming again downtown and the excitement and support of the community is just wonderful! Nearly every day we have someone thanking us for being there or telling us stories of how they remember downtown being like this when they were young and how excited they are that it is coming back to life.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

At first we were creating a lot of our own items so we know all about the hard work and time that goes into that. However as our business became more of a quirky gift and home goods store we leaned into really searching and seeking out other companies that were mission driven like we are with the same focus/goals in mind which is how we started establishing our wholesale suppliers. It enhances our already “giving back” to so much more when the products you sell are also doing good somehow! To be clear, not everything in our shop has a story or mission but most do. We do try to find outside of the box, smaller companies that work well with the aesthetic of the shop. Every purchase made will give back to a charity in one way or another, some more than others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.figandoakshop.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/figandoakshop/
• Facebook: fb.com/figandoakshop
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqtnsLPHgf-uNnY3q0S_xmQ

Image Credits
Julie Mitchell