By Joe Hadsall
Globe Features Editor
JOPLIN, Mo. —
Teddy Steen and Rebecca Courtney watch for it -- the telltale twitch of one of Joanne Eberhart’s eyes that indicates she’s not exactly thrilled with a display.
It’s not meant as an insult -- Eberhart knows that Steen and Courtney have a good eye for displays.
But they know that Eberhart is really good at it. Decoration is her strong point -- it’s something she’s done for years as part of house tours and exhibitions.
So Courtney says that they simply “cracked the code.” She jokes that if they want to get Eberhart into the store they all own together, they tell her that they will work a display themselves, and that will bring Jeanene in faster than anything.
“We’re all very different,” Steen said. “And we appreciate the differences.”
The three women are the co-owners of Blue Moon Market, a clothing and decor store at 613 S. Main St.
The code is just one example of the three women relying on each others’ strengths to make their business a success -- successful enough that they have opened up a second store in Arkansas, and plan to expand the hours of their first store in downtown Joplin.
Missing link
The Blue Moon Market has been open since March, but the concept behind it has been working for many years. Courtney and Eberhart used to have a business, named All Decked Out, that they would take to trade shows and other private events.
Eberhart, who also runs a chiropractic business, met Courtney as a patient about 10 years ago. Soon after, they put their efforts to work in the decor business. Even then, the duo knew to focus on each other’s strengths.
“When Jeanene and I did this, we had our specific areas,” Courtney said. “She handled the decoration, I handled the books and we both did the buying. We fell into a groove.”
Courtney is a master of money and business matters, the other two say. She has a knack for buying stuff that, although she may not like it, she knows others will.
Steen, who goes to the same church as Courtney, wanted to enter the same field after retiring from a 23-year career at Cable One.
“I knew she did this, and I got to talking with her in the parking lot,” Steen said. “I told her I wanted to do a store, and to see what they were doing.”
The store idea resonated with Courtney and Eberhart -- it was a way to expand and, even better, gain crucial storage space.
After working together, they realized that Steen’s strength of talking to people and hitting a floor was what they were missing.
“She was the missing link,” Courtney said. “She took what we were doing and brought it to this. Put me behind the register, and I’m happy. But customers look for Teddy.”
Event shopping
A year has 12 full moons, but a lunar year is a tad shorter than a calendar year. That means, every once in a while, a year will have an extra full moon. Different cultures place that extra full moon at different parts of the year, but those traditions generally agree that a blue moon is a rare occurrence.
Though appropriately named, the Blue Moon Market is open more often. Before the holiday season, the market was open for every third Thursday and first weekend of the month. The store also offers parties, where 10 or more can come in for some exclusive shopping time.
The rare hours were to make shopping an event at the market.
“We thought about doing a once-a-month event, to make it like a monthly thing,” Eberhart said.
The store features an eclectic mix of styles, from vintage to glam. A shopper can find custom-designed blue jeans, sparkly jewelry, baby toys, hot sauce and wall decorations, as well as plenty of other oddities.
Pink rhino heads.
Ceramic frogs.
Lighted letters from old signs.
Blinged-out, bejeweled caps in local team colors.
“It takes a while to go through here,” Eberhart said. “It’s not an in-and-out thing. It’s definitely layered. There’s lots to find around every little corner.”
Making it work
Despite all three of the women having full-time jobs -- Eberhart is a chiropractor, Steen is the executive director of Ascent Recovery Services and Courtney works for United Methodist Church’s district administration office -- they have found the time to invest in the store.
“We thought that anyone could run a store three days a month,” Courtney said. “But those days came around quickly, and there was a lot of work between those three days.”
But the talents, strengths and other characteristics of the three quickly meshed, allowing them to get into another groove, Steen said.
“Each of us was so separate and distinct, but we have the right talents to go together and figure it out,” Steen said. “If we weren’t what we were, this wouldn’t be successful. If we were all the same person and agreed on everything, it wouldn’t work.”
There have been disagreements between the three. Opening the new store in Bentonville, Ark., stretched them thin. But extra communication kept the women working well, they said.
“When we were pulled in 10 different directions, that was the only time we started going, ‘Wait,’” Eberhart said. “With the pressure of getting open, everyone had their particular jobs to do.”
Courtney said that a couple of meetings got everyone on track again.
“Having a conversation works everything out,” she said. “We keep the lines of communication open so everyone knows their responsibility. That’s key.”
The bond between them is strong, Steen said. Strong enough to hire additional employees and expand hours -- the market will keep its current holiday hours continuing through the new year.
“I really like these guys,” Steen said. “This is a great bond.”
