Shop Small Spotlight: J. Bradley
Sisters Olivia Guandique and Catherine Greenwell are bringing the cool factor to downtown Etown again! With their new shop J. Bradley, men finally have a spot to grab a cold one and even better, something cool to wear. As you walk in the light-filled store, the smell of leather gently breezes by and the cozy patterns and threads of clothing flank both sides of the warm brick walls. You can’t help but notice the majestic deer and moose heads hanging on the walls as if to say “Hello” and welcome you into the store. Straight ahead is the check-out counter with a bar, yes a bar with stools, right next to the vintage fridge filled with ice, cold beer. You get the sense that this is a place you may want to stay for a while.
We wanted to know more about how this new store came about from the women that brought us the shop Denizen so we asked them a few questions…
The J. Bradley Name When developing the branding and vision for the store, we quickly decided that we wanted to include our family history. Our grandfather's name was Joseph Bradley Greenwell and our great-grandfather's name was John Bradley Greenwell so there you have J. Bradley! It's the perfect homage to the wonderful men who made our family what it is today!
For The Men in Our Lives Honestly, we (Olivia & Catherine) chat all day long about aesthetics we love, things that inspire us, shops we admire, and on and on and on. We have long loved the warm feelings of leather and cozy fabrics and timeless tradition that you see in men's apparel. Our desire to create something totally different than our shop, Denizen, was the first motivation and the lack of shopping options for men in Elizabethtown made it an easy decision to go for it!
Small Business Love Opening our own business started from a need for flexibility and freedom in our personal lives. We knew how we wanted our lives to look and how we wanted them to feel, and we set out to create that life for ourselves. Although it looks nothing like we had envisioned... way more work than we ever expected haha! For us, the root of our business is family and that brings us the most joy. We work really hard, but we get to do it side by side with each other and our entire family. There's nothing better than the time we get to spend together because we'll never get this time back!
Spreading the Love Around Denizen is our firstborn. She is a shop filled to the brim with things we love in the realm of plants and home decor and beautiful creations by small and local makers. We opened Denizen three years ago and expanded to Nashville last year. Denizen is the launchpad for many of our creative endeavors (floral design, interior decorating, events, etc.) She keeps us busy! If we're not at J. Bradley, you're sure to find us right down the street at Denizen... or having dinner/drinks downtown :)
Love Where You Live It's our home! I don't think most people truly appreciate where they grow up until they leave and look back on all the wonderful people and places that make it what it is. Both of us went off to college with no intention of returning, but here we are! Elizabethtown is a truly great place to live, to raise a family, and to own a business. As the year’s pass, we grow more and more thankful for the people we are surrounded with, the growth we're seeing, and the family we're creating with other amazing, creative people striving to make Elizabethtown better. It's the little things that make this place special, and there are a lot of little things!
Favorites Everything! So much of our time goes into hand-selecting the products we carry. It's the most important thing we do, and we are so intentional about the products we choose. We take into account things such as packaging, who is producing the product, the values of the company, and quality of the product.
Dreamy Our goals and dreams for the future have always been pretty fluid. We tend to let our businesses evolve without keeping a tight grip on them. To us, the stores are beings that will change and grow as time passes and people's interests change and our vision changes. We have no clue what J. Bradley will look like in the future, but we know it will always be a place filled with love and great products!
Location
125 Dixie Highway East
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
Instagram @jbradleyshop
Facebook @jbradleyshop
Website https://www.shopjbradley.com/