Meet Dana Davidoff | Serial Retailer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dana Davidoff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dana, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
So many great questions! In the late 80″s, I was working an extraordinary amount of hours in an office setting (getting paid for only 40 of the many hours) when I was leaving on a Sunday at 3 and my boss made some rude comment about “bankers hours”. I not-so-politely handed him the keys, walked out the door and swore I would never work for anyone else ever again…LOL! Shortly, thereafter, I decided that by the time I turned 30, I would be working for myself and I was…I opened a Mailboxes Etc. in 1990. The most important lesson I learned was early on…across the street from my shop was a similar pack and ship store. The owner of that store was so busy minding my business and worrying about my store that he put himself right out of business! He taught me the best lessons ever…keep my head down and mind my own business, do what I do the very best I can and absolutely love what I do!!! And 30+ years and 17ish shops later, the lesson still holds true and I’m still doing what I love!

What should our readers know about your business?
Connecting the dots between great product, the producers of those products and the end user is my passion! Encouraging the story behind the product whether it’s fair trade, American made, gives back, organic, clever design…etc is what Isadora Popper is all about. Has it been easy? Hell no…but if it were easy, it wouldn’t have been such a great adventure! My mantra has always been…keep out of your own way and keep moving forward and that’s how I’ve been doing this for so long! Isadora Popper is truly a labor of love! I don’t expect everyone to get the vision but when they do, it makes my heart sing!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A week in the world of North Georgia…hiking most mornings (weather permitting), coffee and treats at White Birch Provisions. Shopping in downtown Clayton (of course) Lunch at Fromage, Grapes & Beans, Clayton Cafe or Fortify Pi. Definitely do the waterfalls like Angel Falls and Minihaha. Something totally off the beaten path would be Stumptown tunnel which is within driving distance. Definitely do a sunset at one of the local lookouts like Lookout Mountain Overlook. An evening at Moonlight Distillery doing music bingo is fun! Holisitic Mountain Market for the best smoothies around! Take a swim at Lake Burton’s public beach to the the dock in the middle of the lake and while you’re there, dinner at The Chophouse at Laprades. And head a little south to Tallulah Gorge for the view, coffee at Tallulah 1882 and the Tallulah General Store for a bit of shopping! Foxfire Museum should be an outing. Hambidge Center is a must for creatives. And the list goes on….

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate my shoutout to the amazing group of people who have worked with me at one shop or another for all of these years that enabled me to live my best life! Without them, the story would be much different! They supported me, encouraged my crazy ideas, showed up and filled me up with wonderful memories! How lucky I am to have had them and how wonderful it is that I get to continue working with another amazing group of women who are keeping the story alive :). And of course, all of the people who have spent their hard earned dollars supporting my endeavors…can’t be grateful enough!

Website: www.isadorapopper.com

Instagram: @isadorapopper

Facebook: @isadorapopper