It Takes Good People

Business has changed a lot in the 23 years since Donna Hunt opened The Loft in Duncan, Oklahoma. "When I first opened, there were furniture stores and there were gift stores," she says. "And there was nothing in between. So we focused on gifts and accessories. However, now that you can buy those products in so many different places, we really focus on nicer lines."

Today, The Loft focuses on smart, affordable accessories for the home. The building's first floor features art and antiques, tabletop lighting, rugs, florals, statuary, and other decorative accessories dynamically displayed by Hunt and her six employees

In addition to her retail business, Hunt runs a design studio from the building's second floor. There, The Loft features a wide range of lighting fixtures, furniture samples, upholstery, and casegoods for clients to view and select for on-site design services.

"I've been doing interior design ever since the store opened," says Hunt. "So I spend a lot of time outside of the store."

The first step in creating the hospitable retail atmosphere of The Loft was selecting the right location. The 1919 brownstone building, located on Duncan's Main St., has two stories with 25-foot by 70-foot interior spaces, tin ceilings, and clear, full-story mezzanine windows that supply abundant natural light, creating a warm, open space on the second floor. In order to complete the vintage look of the building, Hunt had contractors strip the plaster from the interior wall on one side of the store, exposing the building's original brickwork.

Hunt points out that, in 1978, The Loft building was ahead of the trend to retro design. "We were definitely recovering from the sixties," she says. But the retro trend has since caught up with The Loft, and the classic building now serves to draw customers from Duncan and the surrounding areas.

Hunt makes use of the open floor plan to create a series of household scenes. Merchandise at The Loft is arranged in domestic displays that echo the interior design work she does, and movable partitions and large antique pieces serve to organize and separate arrangements throughout the store, allowing customers to view products laid out as though they were in a home environment. Hunt has found that one of the benefits of combining her two businesses is that her design clients often return to The Loft for decorative accessories, because they know they can bank on the store's merchandise to fit the design themes in their homes.

"The design work I do tends to blend into the overall theme of the store," she says. "And our displays are our trademark. The inventory turns over pretty fast, but the style remains consistent."

But The Loft's most important asset is its "very knowledgeable, very helpful" staff. Because Hunt spends so much time away from the store, working in clients' homes, she relies heavily on her staff to keep The Loft running smoothly. The tenures of the store's three part-time and three full-time employees range from two to ten years, meaning that customers always have access to expert customer service at The Loft.

"It's a miracle that I found them. They make my job so much easier," says Hunt.

However, she also notes that getting the right mix of staff was difficult in the store's first years of business.

"Don't get me wrong: I worked with wonderful people. But retail is a very service-oriented business. The customer needs someone in the store who really knows what they're talking about. It's hard to maintain that kind of continuity, and can be very stressful for you and for your customers, if the staff is changing a lot. I think too many stores, when they first open, rely too much on friends and part-timers, when what they really need is people that can be there for the long run."

The Loft's employees also participate in selecting the inventory that the store carries. Hunt tries to take each of her employees along at one time or another to the markets in Dallas and High Point, so they can get to know the store's merchandise as well as they know the clientele.

Hunt adds that employees who know how and where products are made provide better customer service because they feel a stronger sense of inclusion in and responsibility for the store. That kind of reliability has made The Loft a popular repeat destination for customers.