When Mary Hennesy and Amy Schafer learned that the space that was formerly home to Rocket Century Vintage was available, they didn’t think twice about checking it out for their own business, Urban Matter. On the way there, they peeked into that space’s adjoining corner storefront and struck up a conversation with one of the landlords.
The couple learned that the corner space at 3179 South Grand would need work, including a new HVAC system, but they were undeterred and quickly mapped out a list of must-haves. They knew that they needed a register space large enough for employee and customer to move around comfortably. With such a high ceiling, they thought, the atmosphere should be light and airy, but at the time, Hennesy says with a laugh, it was not. And the wall dividing the space in two? It would need to go. The couple split the cost with the building’s owner.
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“It wasn’t easy—it was a lot of hard work—but it was worth the wait,” Hennesy says.
Many of the building’s original design elements—including the blue-and-white penny-tile floor and a porcelain sink, which Hennesy and Schafer found in the basement and is now at work in the bathroom—remain. “It’s not perfect, but we like it,” Hennesy says. Sprinkled around the shop are personal touches: a painting purchased by Hennesy; a sink original to Schafer’s house; IKEA cabinets finished with leather strap handles designed by Schafer.
The shop’s interior blends old and new, sentimentality and sustainable design. The best example of the latter? The cabinet that sits along the back wall, originally purchased by the founder of the Fuller Brush Co. “The [owner] didn’t want to move it out. At first we thought it didn’t fit our aesthetic,” says Hennesy. But when a friend lavished praise on it, the couple gave it a second chance.
Most of the renovation, including the installation of the European plywood shelves, was a collaboration between Schafer and Tim Bliss of Architectural Bliss. “Amy is handy,” Hennesy says. Schafer also made many of the space’s industrial-style light fixtures.
Although the two women share responsibility in the business, much of the buying falls to Hennesy. “In a big space,” she says, “it’s hard not to think: How am I going to fill it? ”
The store carries such local names as Golden Gems, Lonesome Traveler, and Collin Garrity, but not everything is regional. For instance, the store’s furniture, including the striking pink sofa in the middle of the room, is by Gus* Modern, based in Toronto. “It’s not that we don’t want to support local,” Hennesy says. “We love to work with local people. But we don’t want to limit ourselves, either.”
Above the register hangs a sign, crafted by Ryan Barnes of Orbit, bearing the shop’s name. “Urban Matter” is a reflection of the area, where business owners encourage customers to visit one another’s stores.
“The word ‘matter’…it’s like physical matter, yes,” Hennesy says, “but also that things matter, people matter, how we love giving gifts matters.”
