The Lady Jane Shop is a store in Harrisonburg, VA, which is also known as The Friendly City. The store is a vintage inspired home and gift shop and is LGBTQ+ friendly so anyone is welcome!
We interviewed Mary Hairston, a Shop Girl working there.
“The owner, she was an elementary school teacher I believe when she started,” Hairston said.. “It was in 2011. And I think she wanted to just go in a different direction. So she opened the shop and at first, it was a lot of vintage … She shopped at estate sales, and then she transitioned to do more like small makers, local people. So it’s kind of evolved into what you see now.”
Hairston said she feels that the supplier base is diverse, and inclusive. She also said the owner, Sara Christensen, tries very hard to ensure the suppliers follow her beliefs.
“I know that she really cares about who she has in her shop and what their values are. And she wants to make sure that they represent her,” Hairston said. ““I’m [actually] one of the artists that we have in the shop. And then she buys things from small makers, like, female-owned. She’s pretty choosy about who she chooses to source in the shop. And then those makers come from all over the world. There’s a couple of companies that are a little bigger, like Rifle Paper Company, that she partners with, but it’s mostly small makers that she buys [from].”
In our personal experience in this shop, the people, location and decor gave it a homey feeling. The entire shop just felt so inviting and the general items being sold in the shop gave an inclusive and culturally understanding energy.
Some of our favorite things in the shop we noticed were stickers, greeting cards and even little book earrings. The only things that could be a deterrent are the price and the crowdedness of this shop.
Overall, The Lady Jane Shop is a wonderful place, and we would recommend shopping here to anyone who loves a good store.
Story by Emmeline Davis & Livia Perry
Photo by Livia Perry
Caption by Emmeline Davis
Multimedia Map by Emmeline Davis & Livia Perry
