Local merchants Julia Winter, Travis Anglin and Danielle Sittu specialize in customer service, and they have found a niche in North Central Phoenix that reaches far beyond Camelback Road and Central Avenue (photo by Trudy Thompson Shumaker).
Local merchants Travis Anglin, Danielle Sittu and Julia Winter are neighbors in a shopping plaza at 4700 N. Central Ave. They specialize in customer service, and they have found a niche in North Central Phoenix that reaches far beyond Camelback Road and Central Avenue.
Need a suit for your daughter’s wedding? A special piece of jewelry for the graduate? An outfit that for parents’ night that won’t scream “yes, I’m a mom and haven’t dressed in anything but shorts and T-shirts since I burned my dress-for-success pantsuits?”
You can guess at sizes and quality while scouring the internet, wander aimlessly through the chain stores and go unnoticed by anybody but another shopper, or you can find yourself a local merchant who will greet you with a smile and show you an interesting inventory of merchandise that suits your fancy. And that fits your body and your budget.
Do brick and mortar shops still matter? Yep, apparently so. But, as Travis Anglin, owner of Men’s Apparel Club puts it, “I’d reframe that statement. Relationships matter more today than ever. And local merchants know that. We get to know our customers, and we take good care of them.”
Anglin outfitted his shop, where he sells men’s suits made of natural fabrics, with overstuffed leather chairs, a pool table and a bar. It’s worth a trip to run your hands over the custom bar with inlaid turquoise, designed and made by his dad.
He encourages wedding parties and other “guys who are attending a function together” to schedule a private fitting event at his store.
“If you want to get in and out with a suit, we can make that happen fast. Or if you want to make the suit shopping an event, we can do that too. We work with local tailors who are equally dedicated to taking care of customers.”
“Older guys are delighted to discover a local source for clothing, sold in a shop where they can relax and get help from someone who knows his products and how to fit them. Younger guys may never have experienced such a shop, and they are surprised and grateful to find a proprietor who can help them look their best and feel confident and comfortable.”
Danielle Sittu’s Statements Boutique is a shop for women of all ages, with casual, dressy and always snazzy outfits, along with jewelry that brings all the details together. But really, it is Sittu who brings all the details together.
“I love to help women style themselves,” she said. “Online shopping can do a lot for us, but another woman can do a lot more. I get to know my customers and what they’re looking for, then I help them assemble an outfit that makes them feel good. And I’m honest. I won’t tell a woman she looks fabulous in an outfit when, in fact, she needs to keep looking.”
She spent 35-plus years as a corporate communicator, but downsizing “left me without a job, and I wanted to control my own destiny.” That’s when she wrote a business plan, backed by her years of project management, creative and people skills.
“Mentoring and encouraging others have always brought me the most happiness. And I’ve always loved fashion – but never really felt comfortable in my own skin. Trying on clothing is very personal. Women often focus on what they think is wrong with their body,” said Sittu. “If a customer comes out of a fitting room and is not smiling and confident, I gently offer styling ideas or suggest a different outfit. This is what I offer, and the result makes my customers – and me – happy.”
Julia Winter makes and sells jewelry in her shop, Jewel Ya, and also sells her products online. This corporate techie left that world behind 20 years ago to start the business, offering one-on-one appointments “so shoppers get the attention they need.” She combines the online and in-person experience, and notes, “When I step back and review our business results, the in-person sales have always remained stronger than online and they continue to grow.”
Her jewelry is timeless as well as on-point trendy, but always quality and with a unique flair.
“Taking time to get to know a customer is the best part of this job – because I can show them or design what they really want.”
“The sense of community here – we all are neighbors, along with many other shop owners, and we take care of one another as well as our customers. We all need that,” said Winter.
