EDEN Home and Gift Boutique and VOX Curvy Couture are now next door neighbors on Fifth Street and are working together to bring a unique, positive presence to the community.
Rosalind Hinton, who runs EDEN with her daughter Morgan, said working next door to VOX has been a good experience. Her shop was located on Seventh Avenue for three years as EDEN GardenHouse, but she relocated to Fifth Street to be in Roosevelt Row.
“[The Owners of VOX] Andy and Joe have been really supportive,” she said. “They’re excited because we’re there and then our customers will come and they’ve been really helpful in telling people who frequent their shop to come and check us out, so it’s been a great experience so far.”
VOX co-owner Andy McManis shared the positive sentiment.
“It has been just wonderful,” she said. “Their concept is amazing and complementary to what we have. It’s been great to work with them and it’s just great having another business next door so that we get more visibility.”
The collaboration goes beyond just sharing a building and swapping customers. VOX and EDEN are working together to put on a fashion show in April. Morgan Hinton will be doing the hair and makeup and VOX will supply the clothes for the models, McManis said.
The owners of both stores said they were motivated by a desire to bring more positivity to the lives of their customers, albeit in different ways. For Rosalind Hinton, the positivity comes from helping people brighten their homes.
“I hear sad stories every day and EDEN is like the happy place where I can hopefully empower somebody, even if they buy just one little piece, to put some piece of happiness in their house to make it more beautiful or warm and inviting,” Rosalind Hinton said.
Morgan Hinton said she quit her job to come work with her mother and help her realize that goal. She handles many of the day-to-day operations of the store.
“My mother is really a go-getter and one day she told me that she wanted to open a retail store and I didn’t really understand,” she said. “She works as a social worker by trade, so it’s kind of cool to watch her in that and then watch her in how passionate she is about the shop. It gives me passion too.”
McManis said her biggest goal for VOX is to help women feel better about their bodies.
“We think that women should have a voice and just because you’re plus size doesn’t mean you have to hide your body,” McManis said. “I have a lot of girls whose confidence has gone way up since coming into the shop and that’s why we’re here.”
Contact the reporter at travis.arbon@asu.edu
