Hodge Podge
Teresa Beck was working at an antique shop in the Hazelwood district of Waynesville when something outside caught her eye. “I saw some carpenters working in an empty building across the street,” she says. “After investigating, I did something impulsive and rented the building. It was one of those ‘just-got-to-do-it’ moments.”
Hodge Podge
She is calling her new shop Hodge Podge, in honor of her mother. “People would ask how her house was decorated, and she would say, ‘It’s just a hodge podge of things,’” Beck says. “It sort of stuck with me.” She is excited about the location of her business, in Hazelwood. “There is something here for everyone,” she says, “and I am thrilled to be a small part of it.”
Her fascination with the retail business dates back to her young years. “I started in retail in the late 1960s as a 16 year old wrapping presents in a family-owned clothing store,” she says. As a college student she remembers watching customers in all of the shops she frequented. She would see them pick up an item, hold it, then smile as they recalled a memory. “That’s when I knew I had to do that someday,” Beck says, “bring a smile to someone’s face.”
In 1975, she opened her first shop in a small town in Alabama. “I opened a new shop every time we moved to another state,” she says, “all the while raising two children and enjoying a 25-year nursing career.”
Staying true to her mother’s vision and the definition of hodge podge as a miscellany of items, her store will offer the kind of shopping experience she hopes will bring smiles to faces. “My main focus will be having unique, interesting accessories that are actually useful and are not just collecting dust,” she says, “as well as furniture suitable for townhouses, condominiums, apartments and that perfect dream house of yours.”
Hodge Podge is located at 472 Hazelwood Avenue, Waynesville. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 828.506.6712.
