08/22/2024
Hello fellow Outsiders!
We have decided to close our store downtown. Although we are excited for our new ventures and adventures, we hope to see you before we close our doors. Come see us Saturday, September 7th for a blowout sale!
TLDR – Hokay friends, we’re closing our store and Ella and Renee are pursuing new ventures. We love you all and will continue to be a part of our beloved DeLand community. Visit Ella at the Yoga Shed! Make a loud bird call if you catch us in the wild! We promise to respond in like kind ☺
A little about our story:
Back in 2014, two best friends came together to create a business centered on the outdoors and bringing excellent equipment to other like-minded individuals. Despite lacking knowledge of all that being a small business owner entails, we were driven and open-minded.
The years spent downtown in our special space have been truly amazing. During our early years we set up in a small office to suit our needs. The walls were painted with bright colors, and a cozy nook was carved out for kids and grownups to play and relax while at work. We made sure to have good tunes always blasting through our speakers, and shared many days of laughter and silliness that have continued until the end.
In 2017, we moved into our brick-and-mortar store downtown and took that same enthusiasm in designing our new space. It was important to keep as much of the historic building as possible and give it a younger vibe, full of fun products to help people enjoy the outdoors. Over the years we’ve helped countless people connect with the rivers, beaches, swamps, dunes, and all the wonders our natural planet has to offer. We are so thankful you’ve made space in your lives to hear about our passions and favorite places in our beautiful state. We hope it’s inspired you towards a more active lifestyle that enjoys the best of Florida.
Our Outsiders journey has been one of laughter, love, and deep personal growth. There are people who we would like to thank for their contributions throughout the years. We leaned on our community many times, and they always came through.
To Barb Shepard and Janet Bollum – Your knowledge and experience in running businesses and leading communities are spectacular. You both took us under your wings and believed in our abilities. Your support has carried us through many difficult times, and we love you dearly. It has been a privilege to learn from strong women who have been running businesses in Downtown Deland for as many years as you both have.
To Sean DiMercurio and his team – We came to your business as noobs, and your guidance is always one of the first we seek when making big decisions. Every meeting with you felt like a reunion of friends and we will treasure all the effort you put into our business over the years.
To all our wonderful employees who spent summers in a chaos of packing boxes and ridiculously silly shenanigans - Abby, Pat, Devon, Ariel, Kat, Natalie, Axel, Ola, Erica, Lydia, Chloe, and Summer. We’re grateful for your time and effort. It has been a pleasure to be a stepping stone in your lives. Your smiles brightened our days and we hope your time spent with our company was filled with fun and learning! Thank you for the opportunity to help us grow as leaders.
To our partners in Israel, in particular Ilan, Mordi & Lee - we’re so grateful for your partnership and helping us kick start our business with the incredible, indispensable Otentik beach sunshade. It’s been our pleasure to be your US retailer for the original and best beach shade!
To the Canovas - Our Ruth Bader Ginsberg mural makes us smile every time we see it. Thank you for your time and artistic contributions that span throughout our beautiful city!
To DeLand MainStreet – We adore the love and dedication you put into the local businesses to help build a thriving downtown. Your events have helped people find our business and learn what we were about. We will miss all the families coming in for Waldo and Molly hunts. The work you do is valuable and an integral part of what makes our town a great place to live and visit. Thank you.
Last but certainly not least…To our friends in the community who supported our shop throughout the years - we deeply appreciate your patronage! We were able to introduce so many people to the waterways, and instill a love for the earth through our many beach & downtown cleanups. Thank you for supporting local, and we’ll see you around!
Our shop will be open all day Sept 7th for the start of our closing sale. Open hours while we’re transitioning into other things will be pared down to Monday, Thursday, Friday and half-day Sat. To make a personal shopping appointment outside of open hours by emailing or calling us at [email protected] or 386 785 6806
