I went to Japan to study for a semester in high school, and it was just a really small a really small program in the sense that I was the only English speaking student in the school for a little bit, until a girl from New Zealand showed up. So I did a lot of exploring on my own and I really liked coming into the shops. So then I went back over for a second semester in college, and then at that point, I was already studying business in college, and I did an internship at a shop where two English people were doing this little import business into Japan for the expats with all the comfort foods. So I did a project on them for school. I got really into it.

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Thinking back my family are collectors, my grandmother was always into collecting fashion, and my grandfather loved to archive, so that type of stuff really interested me. I always liked collecting and curating things. I opened the shop before E-commerce was really a big thing. So it was still kind of novel, bringing stuff over from Japan, which it still is, but we also don't limit ourselves to Japan necessarily. That's just where it made sense to start, since Japan's retail is so cool. I love to study of the scale of stuff and I always really liked figuring out how they used space, I hadn't seen too much like it. Then I thought this makes sense for a place in Philadelphia where we don't have huge square footage and things tend to be built upwards. So I always really like studying that and could see how that model would work.

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When I was 25 I graduated, and then I worked at Anthropologie, in-store. I felt like I had an idea unique enough that it could stand on its own, and that I wouldn't want it to just be part of somebody else's single season vibe. Working there was total bootcamp. My intention when I started working as a sales clerk was, “I’ll work here for two and then get a job.” Through that I learned inventory, and all the basics of how to do a store. I remember thinking, "oh I understand why they're organizing things, or resizing the sales section in the store this way", and people will be like... "what you talking about?" To me it all just clicked together.

Our customer base is pretty niche, so I enjoy figuring out what they like and building out that experience. The store evolves in many directions, but that’s what I love about it. It doesn’t ever get on top of a single trend. But now with a larger space the stationery has room to breathe. I’ve been meaning to do a remodel for so long. Originally we dedicated a lot of space to home before our stationery collection was enough for us to build into a larger part of the business. So originally all the shelves are built real deep for pillows and blankets, and so they're completely impractical for stationery. My dad and I built a lot of it together back in the day but I realize to fully renovate would take every ounce of energy.

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When we moved into Old City in 2015 I remember at the time we were decently reliant on Press, and features in City Guides and such. At that time those types of publications focused on Old City, the draw was there, so we decided to shift over there because Old City was the go-to spot for indie retail.

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We launched in 2005 as “Omoi”. In 2011 we had an employee that knew Illustrator and Photoshop and we decided to update the brand to be Omoi Zakka Shop, which was a key word that made us more searchable digitally. At one point we thought about fully changing the name but there was a lot of loyalty to it so Omoi stayed. Over time “Zakka Shop” came to mean a more heavy connotation very specific to stationery which isn’t what we fully are. So now we are “Omoi Life Goods” and we worked with the local design crew, Mellow Gold to create the rebrand. At that point we had to go through the exercise of, who are we? I was really drawn to the aesthetic of “Colette” in Paris, colorful, contemporary. So that was really top of mind for me as we worked through the rebrand.

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I am so grateful to all our customers, fans & friends that have supported Omoi to 18 years in business. I realized lately that I'm at a spot in my life where I'd like a different balance of life & work. I think rebalancing will give me the space to keep figuring out how to grow the shop, which I look forward to doing. I'm about to embark on finally getting my own house in order. I think it will be a long task but I'm excited for the exercise of learning what tools, notebooks, aroma in my house I find to be enjoyable and making sure they are in stock at the shop!

Erykah Badu stopped in the shop way back in the early days of Omoi while she was on tour with her band in Philly. She apparently had just gotten acupuncture up the block and came in asking if I could call her a taxi. I didn’t recognize her at first; her stage presence is so grand, but in real life she’s super petite. She came in wearing a purple t-shirt, purple pants, purple makeup, and a purple bob wig and when she lifted her hand, I noticed her huge ankh ring and silently realized who she was.

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She seemed to sincerely enjoy the shop and the NOOKA watches I was selling at the time also caught her eye. She wound up purchasing eight of them, one for each of her band, and was photographed later that night at the Philly show wearing the gold one she picked for herself. To sell Ms. Badu a piece of jewelry that I know she wore is the highest compliment!

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When we closed the store in 2021 so many people came out of the woodwork to be like, meant a lot to me. I had someone who told me they and their partner had matching tattoos to commemorate the shop because they had their first date there or something. Really means a lot!