A perfect fit for the downtown portrait

ELIZABETHTOWN – A quaint and trendy woman’s store which is a perfect “bookend” for the downtown shopping area is Amy’s.

The shop usually has racks of bright colored clothing calling people in from their busy lives and from the moment you step through the front door, it looks as if you are in a high-end store on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago with the classy and well-placed mannequins throughout.

Unlike the pretentious city, you feel as if you are surrounded with the peace and tranquility of a small-town meadow in May dressed in all its colorful blooms. Subtle and encouraging Christian music gently wafts in the background and you know it’s a safe place. A proper place. A very special place.

Almost as if those elegant chairs set in the midst of the shop were set there for weary travelers – passing through a busy life and being able to find a place of rest and a place to “get your bearings.”

The shop at 138 W. Broad Street is run by Amy Johnson who was born and grew up in the Tomahawk area and attended Harrells Christian Academy.

The business was officially welcomed to the downtown area July 11, 2019 shortly after Johnson finished remodeling the building. Amy’s which initially started as primarily a retail store for women’s clothing, jewelry, watches and footwear has since expanded into some fun home goods and items that can only be found under her roof.

Her childhood and sense of a solid Christian home gave her a good foundation and common sense to go along with a Christian school that is highly regarded and respected in the state of North Carolina.

“I had gone to public school up until high school,” she said. “My parents then wanted me in a Christian environment. I at first didn’t want to go because I didn’t want to leave my friends for a new place where I didn’t know anyone. But it was the best decision that they made for me and I’m so glad I went.”

The Harrells’ legacy lived on for Johnson through her three children ViviAnn (21), Willa Grace (19) and Robert (16) who also attended Harrells Christian Academy. She first and foremost feels that the school offered them a great educational foundation and augmented what they were getting at home, being raised in a Christian home.

In a matter of weeks going to her new school, Johnson knew that she had found her niche being included and encouraged in anything she put her hand to.

“I played softball, which I was terrible at,” she said with a laugh. “For two years my position was the bench warmer. I played because my friends played. I was also a cheerleader. My favorite hobby growing up was deer hunting.”

Johnson who looks more as if she would be in a young ladies finishing school rather than a deer hunting camp peeled a side of her that isn’t instantly evident.

“I did that as often as possible,” she said. “I can remember having to ask to be excused from cheerleading early so I could go get a tree stand.”

One of her memories she talks about was her first deer which was a spikehorn, or “cow horn” as they call it in the south and she shot it with a 20-gauge shotgun. She had her first meat on the table at age 11.

“As I got older, I moved from shotguns to rifles,” she said. “I always went with my dad and was always a daddy’s girl. He started me out with a little 0.22 rifle and moved up to a 30-06.”

She watched as her dad taught her to provide for a family and little did she know, but those skills among other such as a gift to build and remodel came in handy as she navigated through some rough terrain later in life.

She graduated from high school in 2000 and 20 years later she became a business owner about to head through COVID with three children. To say they were trying times would be an understatement.

“I got through things because of Jesus Christ,” she said. “I was deeply rooted in my faith and with each twist and turn in the road God was always preparing me for the next thing. He always pulled me through. I also had a lot of help from my family.”

She also learned how to keep herself busy and during some early family struggles and hard decisions, she went back to school for interior decorating – again, preparing her for her place in downtown Elizabethtown, having to remodel and redecorate a building which needed a lot of help.

After a move to White Lake and a new start, she began to work with her dad in his logging business.

“Now I wasn’t actually a logger,” she said with a smile. “I used to help him with his books and that sort of thing.”

Again – in the school of life, she was picking up and honing skills to make her a successful business owner.

“I always wanted to do something of my own,” she said. “Right out of high school I went to Sampson Community College and got my cosmetology license and then became a full-time mother. I have a drive in me to have my own identity. I went back to school at Mt. Olive and got a two-year degree looking for my next steps. I started thinking about what I could do and this put upon my table.”

The downtown already had some fine clothing stores, but Johnson said that she felt she could offer something different. With that shoppers had a choice to find that perfect gift or outfit they were looking for.

“I never want to carry something that someone else is carrying, because you just don’t want to do that in a small town,” she said. “We are all unique in what we bring. I went building shopping and found this place which was actually the old Bladen Journal building at that time. It was vacant when I came upon it. The building was a disaster and I knew that I wanted to make it nice and make it mine so I bought it. Now, my daddy was always good in business and I’ve leaned on him for everything in life. He’s the apple of my eye.”

Dean and Vivian Thomas who have been married 52 years were instrumental in helping to shape and help their daughter become a success and an anchor in Elizabethtown. As strong Christian parents one of the most important things they taught their daughter was to press on with God and to remember that He was the rock on which she would have to stand when things got tough.

During COVID she was to face her first obstacle in business – and though nobody was working, she said that she came to work every day and when people wanted to buy things online, she would still be able to sell them what they needed. She was still strong in her social media business and was still receiving shipments in.

Her empty store became her prayer room and she has many memories of those initial days when she was being prepared, healed and strengthened.

Since that time the store has grown, they have been able to utilize the back of the store as a consignment area which works well with the new clothing up front.

“Starting the business was an extreme challenge,” she said. “I learn every single day something that I need to be better. And I learned from the ground up. I like to work. I like to work hard and I want to get better – so it is exciting. My goal from the beginning was to be able to offer something for all ages and all walks of life. I wanted a grandmother to come in and be able to shop with her granddaughter and they both could find something they wanted or needed.”

From a small town to the deer fields to exploring many fields of education, the woman who thrives in the drive is driven to excellence – and as a title that perhaps aptly describes her – she is a genuine woman “at play in the fields of the Lord.”

Whether you come in to shop or come in to chat – you will find just the things your heart desires.