Business Happenings
- August 2001
A Natural Place to Shop: Nature's West
Penny
and Rex Tanner work hard. They own a large campground-Slickrock
Campground— with a gift shop, snack bar, swimming pool and
hot tubs. That’s enough to keep anyone busy, but a few years
ago, they began looking into expanding their business. Rather than
buy another campground, they decided to diversify and go into the
retail business. Penny analyzed the market and saw the need for
a high-end clothing store where both locals and visitors to Moab
could buy attractive, high-quality apparel. Thus, Nature’s
West was born in 1995.
Penny has been creative in finding her niche in Moab. During the
early years of the business, she experimented with fun and fancy
gardening implements, wind chimes, and other outdoor items. She
then introduced candles to her shop. These “departments”
were in addition to her large selection of men’s and women’s
apparel. After five years of operation, she has firmly established
herself as one of Moab’s high-end apparel shops.
“The gardening and candles and other gift items were fun,”
says Penny, “but what we really need here is a place to buy
nice clothing and accessories.”
When
you walk into Nature’s West, you’ll see lots of brands
you recognize such as Doc Marten’s, Lucky, True Grit and most
recently, Levi’s. Until Penny started stocking Levi’s,
there was nowhere in Moab to buy these famous brand jeans that most
everyone can’t live without.
“It took a lot of work and about five years to land that line,”
explains Penny. “I had to video tape the store myself, show
them everything else I carried, film Main Street and my storefront.
Some of these lines are very strict about where they allow their
clothes to be sold. We passed the test, though, and now you can
buy Levi’s in Moab.”
"Locals appreciate being able to pick up a new pair of Levi’s
for the rodeo or car show. They also appreciate the fact you can
buy quality shoes such as Naot and Dansko clogs. “Dankso clogs
is probably one of my most successful lines. Everybody loves those
clogs,” Penny says.
You can always find something to wear at Nature’s West whether
it’s to a street dance, the swimming pool, or a special night
out on the town. There are clothes to satisfy anyone who enjoys
high quality, distinctive apparel. True Grit is a casual, contemporary
western line featuring outdoor themed printed fleece jackets, vests,
and shirts. Lucky clothing appeals to the younger set. Penny’s
line of hats not only gives you protection from the sun, but also
allows you to make a bold fashion statement.
“Sometimes people just want something new to wear and they
decide that at the last minute. I’m glad we can be here to
help out locals who have an eye for fashion and need something to
wear on the spur of the moment,” says Penny.
Perhaps the best thing about Nature’s West is that you’ll
find things you can’t find at the mall - any mall! Penny loves
to go to the apparel shows and see what’s new so she can introduce
it to Moab. She carries both men’s and women’s apparel
and believes there is something that both a mother and a daughter,
or a father and a son, would enjoy wearing and look good in.
“I try to appeal to locals first,” she says. “My
heart is with the people who live here. I listen to what they want
and what they need and try to buy accordingly. As it turns out,
the selection makes people traveling to our town happy, too.”
In
an effort to make shopping at Nature’s West even easier for
locals, Penny offers layaways. She can also special order in special
sizes or colors that she may not have in the store. Nature’s
West also stays open most of the year. The store is always open
through the holidays, Penny emphasizes, and in 2002 will be open
all 12 months. During the summer season, Nature’s West is open
from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven days a week. Winter hours she closes
at 5 p.m. and is open five days a week.
Besides running a retail store and campground,
Penny and Rex are very active in community issues and events. Rex
can often be found at city and county council meetings and is on
the Grand County Search and Rescue Team. Penny recently coordinated
a smashing 4th of July Celebration for the community, and her new
project for fall is the Fat Tire Festival. Penny is focusing on
the Fat Tire 2002 Swimsuit Edition Fashion Show. Nature’s West
will contribute to the show with a swimsuit fashion show. Asked
if she was going to model, Penny deferred, and said she was hoping
for Yasmine Bleeth instead! For a preview of swimsuits-and other
tempting ensembles-visit Nature’s West today. Nature's West
is located at 50 North Main, in the heart of Moab. When you stop
in to see what Nature's West has to offer, please be sure to mention
that you read about Nature's West in the Moab Happenings.
© 2001 Moab Happenings. All rights
reserved. Reproduction of information contained in this site is
expressly prohibited.
