Michael and Shelly Daddone have brought the world to a small shop on Almaville Pike at Hazelwood Drive called The Eclectic Road. Walking in the door the vast assortment of items from around the world as well as local makers is almost overwhelming, and yet the store has a very welcoming vibe that draws you in to look around and dig deeper.
The first things that hit your senses are the racks of bright and colorful skirts, pants and joggers from India that fill the entrance with every color of the rainbow. Next, perhaps you see the handmade themed wreaths high up on the wall created by a local crafter Robin. Or the very retro mid mod earrings made by another local crafter. By the register there are handmade clay and stone necklaces from India. On another shelf there are locally made healing tea blends. And all around the walls and displays are every kind of semi-precious stone you can imagine in the form of balls, obelisks, hearts and even in their raw state.
When living in Florida, the Daddones had a similar shop called Razzle Dazzle that they began in 2009. When they came to Rutherford County, they began selling some of the items they have in The Eclectic Road in both the Murfreesboro and Franklin Painted Tree shops, as well as in High Cotton in Dickson. But when the shop space they are in now came open, many of their friends and customers told them they needed to open a shop in Smyrna because there was nothing like it in the town.
“My wife and I had an office in the building that we worked out of for our regular jobs,” said Michael Daddone, “as this store is a second business, but we moved our office down here and opened the store. We’ve had a lot of good response since we opened a few months ago.”
Daddone has been buying things directly from artists out of places like India, Nepal and Jaipur for a long time. He does lots of research and then, thanks to the internet, is able to contact the manufacturers directly. That is how he keeps his prices down.
“I come from a long line of customer servers,” said Daddone. “I like to make my customers happy. I am not trying to underprice competitors by buying direct. I just want to give my customers a good deal.” Something that people in Smyrna and the surrounding area are sure to be happy about in the current economy.
Many of the craft vendors he has in the shop he met through his daughter who does event shows. One of these vendors is a young woman of gypsy descent who makes her own healing teas from recipes that have been passed down in her family for generations.
“The teas have become a big hit,” noted Daddone.
Other big sellers are stones and crystals, candles, incense, and clothing. From local artists and crafts-people he carries wreaths, quilts, photography, wood working, stained glass, jewelry, candles, and his wife makes colored glass objects with alcohol ink and resin.
“My wife has been teaching classes in how to color glass with alcohol ink and resin and it has gone really well,” said Daddone. “We also recently had a stained-glass class with K.C Shcellhammer from Of Glass and Flame. We hope to have more classes, like crystal classes, tarot reading classes, and singing bowl classes.”
Customers are from all walks of life and all age groups, says Daddone. He has seen kids to 70- year-olds who come in and know more about crystals and stones than he does. And he listens to all of them. He has gotten merchandise ideas from many of them.
“I like to bring in what customers want,” he said.
Opening the shop was not really in the plan, Daddone admits. It is an opportunity that just came up and he decided to take it. He says that if you had asked him two years ago if he’d be running a shop in Smyrna he would have said no, but he likes to go with the flow. And the flow was taking him in this direction.
“I am in awe of touching so many people in such a short period of time and making them happy,” said Daddone. “It has been so much fun and we have received so much positive reinforcement.”
The Eclectic Road
1404 Hazelwood Drive
Smyrna, Tennessee
(615) 462-5156
https://www.facebook.com/theeclecticroad/
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
