Eclectic Ardmore, Oklahoma, shop makes for colorful stop

Tag : white pig iron

Store owner and dedicated junker Heidi Chapman had no intention ofbuying anything big at the Round Top Antiques Fair last year.
"I had not driven my big box truck, which I usually take,because I wasn't going to buy anything big," she says."But I saw it within a few minutes and said, 'I have to havethat.' "
And so she bought a giant ice cream cone sign that had stoodoutside the Sugar Shack in Great Bend, Kan., in the 1960s. Shearranged for the dealer's husband, a truck driver, to deliver it.
Ms. Chapman tried to keep the purchase from her husband until shecould break the news. But then, as they ate dinner at a restaurantwith friends a couple of days later, the dealer and her husbandstopped by the table to talk logistics.
"She goes over it and goes over it, and my husband is justsitting there very patiently," Ms. Chapman recalls."Finally, when she was gone, he asked, 'Would it beinappropriate to ask what she has bought that has to be deliveredin an 18-wheeler?' "
The big cone sits on a grassy patch within a ring of old,pink-painted bicycles. Outside the pink-and- white striped buildingis a dense cluster of other interesting junk old and new:wrought-iron bird cages, a ceramic swan, a winged pig and more.
Inside the shop, you'll find antiques and penny candy; pursesshaped like puppies; and zebra-print flip-flops, sunglasses andsundresses (the clothing brands include Ivy Jane, Language, ChaudryKC and Red Engine Jeans), cards and toys, jewelry and gift books,and T-shirts.
There's also a cat named Sophie and another named Albert (whom youmay see snoozing in a jewelry case), a Moluccan cockatoo namedJasmine and, on some days, Ms. Chapman's black and white poodle,Fergie.
The animal love also extends to a clutch of outdoor feral cats. Ajar on the counter solicits donations from customers who would liketo contribute to their care and feeding.
Junking has long been a love of Ms. Chapman's, and she had a storesimilar to the Cloverleaf in Oklahoma City in the 1980s but closedit when the oil bust ravaged the state's economy.
Then "I had a career and a midlife crisis," she says.After running a drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation centerand working with people who suffer from chronic mental illness, shedecided she needed to lighten up. Eight years ago, she opened theCloverleaf (named for the Cloverleaf bar, the building's previousincarnation). It started as an antiques mall and evolved into acollection of kooky and colorful merchandise.
The Cloverleaf has a devoted clientele, many of whom exitInterstate 35 for a shopping break en route to other places.
"It's a must-stop on Texas-OU weekend," manager JenniferClaxton says.
Presumably, these stops are scheduled because this is not a pop-in,pop-out kind of place. There's too much to see.
Two years ago, Ms. Chapman opened a smaller store in Oklahoma City,focusing more on clothing and jewelry. She is considering otherlocations and plans to create a Web site for online shopping.
But for the full Cloverleaf impact, take the West Broadway exit offI-35, drive west and look for the big ice cream cone. You can'tmiss it.
Cloverleaf Boutique, 3218 W. Broadway, Ardmore, Okla.;580-224-0400. Ardmore is about two hours north of Dallas.
Sophia Dembling is a Dallas freelance writer.