Advertisement

‘A space that was truly me.’ Owner of popular downtown Macon shop gives it a new home

When Scott Mitchell relocated his popular downtown Macon business a couple of doors down on Cherry Street recently, he gained something of intrinsic value in addition to greater visibility and triple the space.

“I really just created a space that was truly me … This space is 100% my baby, if you know what I mean, from scratch,” said Mitchell, who purchased the business in 2018 and expanded it over the years.

The new 3,000-square-foot space at 502 Cherry St. opened as The Bohemian Den, with Mitchell dropping Travis Jean Emporium “to make it more cohesive with my brand.”

He said he’ll keep the name Travis Jean Emporium and The Bohemian Den on social media for a while before streamlining to simply The Bohemian Den.

Scott Mitchell, owner of The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Scott Mitchell, owner of The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.

The new space

“The new space is The Bohemian Den. I’ve really built on the brand and have gone all in,” Mitchell said. “So, it’s everything — a lot of the same gift things that Travis Jean Emporium used to have

“I have expanded my Georgia food section, I’ve expanded my teas … and tea accessories. ... I have a lot more candles now, jewelry, wind chimes, art. But I also have my Turkish lamps, singing bowls, incense, sage, lots of books.”

Scott noted that he also has a “pretty decent PRIDE section, crystals and stones.”

Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.

“I have several local bath and body vendors here in the shop,” he said.

Add to the carefully curated collection local artwork from “several artists I’ve been working with for years.”

“One of them even did a mural on my new shop,” Mitchell said. “It’s a social justice butterfly. You can even stand in front of it and get an Instagram photo.”

The mural was created by She Keene of Redefining She.

“It’s a butterfly, and in it, she included the words equality,” Mitchell said. “We have a Black Lives matter symbol. So, a lot of the posters and things I had in my old shop I really wanted to continue those themes in this shop but elevate it a little bit.

“So, we decided to work together and do a mural instead that kind of encompassed all of that into one mural.”

Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.

‘A welcoming space’

Mitchell described the new spot as “a welcoming space where all people are welcome and celebrated.”

“People can come here and be themselves,” he said. “They don’t have to hide who they are. We love all people.”

Mitchell noted that he’s the only nationally certified LGBT business in Macon. He received the LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) certification from the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.

Nestled at the corner of Cherry and Third streets, the new space has “windows all the way around.”

“The visibility alone is just as good as any advertising I’ve ever done,” Mitchell said. “It’s wild just how many people walk past these windows every day.

“Every morning when I get here there’s fingerprints all over the windows from the night before when we’ve already closed and gone home and people have walked by and put their faces up to the window. I love seeing it, you know, because it means people are looking.”

‘A good mix’

Mitchell has spent the past couple of weeks working to get everything just right in the new space.

“I finally got it to where it’s really, really ready,” he said. “It’s really just a good mix.”

Something he did differently in the new space was departmentalizing the layout.

“I grouped like and similar products together — like if you’re looking for food, then all the food and tea is all together. Also in that section I have things that go along with food like my cutting boards and the cheese boards and those things, utensils and glassware and all of that. All of it’s all together in that section

“The candles are all together. All my metaphysical, singing bowls, incense, all the crystals and stones, they are all together. So I was really able in this space to design it differently because it is so large and I have space to do it.”

The large space also enabled Mitchell to add a First Friday gallery wall with gallery seating.

“So for Friday, you can actually sit over here and … look at the art and admire it and talk with friends … I’ve been able to add different elements that I couldn’t add in the other space just because of the lack of space,” he said.

In addition to art by local artists and soap and bath products and candles from local artisans, Mitchell offers a lot of international fair trade merchandise from India, Turkey, Mexico, Guatemala, Africa and Thailand.

Lamps for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Lamps for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.

Mosaic lamps from Turkey are extremely popular among customers.

“I sell the heck out of those,” Mitchell said. “They’re just absolutely gorgeous.”

A grand opening celebration for the new space is scheduled for Oct. 7, 8 and 9.

The Bohemian Den is open 10-8 Monday through Saturday and 12-8 on Sunday. The number is 478-227-7785.

Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
The new 3,000-square-foot space of The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
The new 3,000-square-foot space of The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Items for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Jewelry for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Jewelry for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Lamps for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
Lamps for sale at the new retail space for The Bohemian Den located at 502 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.