Pocatello woman brings the past to life
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POCATELLO — Debbie Lewis, owner of the Shady Lady and The Shady Lady Too in Pocatello, has been knee-deep in antiques for over fifty years, and that’s just the way she likes it.
Her love of everything Victorian, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco began early.
“I grew up around antiques brought from England and France by my father’s family,” Debbie explains.
By the time she was a teenager, she had started her own collection with a 1920s table. Her collection of antiques continued to grow, following her from Portland, where she grew up, to Pocatello in 1970, then to Brooklyn in the 80s, and back again to Pocatello in 1999.
Upon returning to Pocatello, she told her husband that if the historic house at 655 N Arthur Avenue, ever became available, she wanted it. The following week it went on the market.
“It was meant to be,” Debbie says.
Less than a year later, in 2000, The Shady Lady opened for business.
In the beginning, The Shady Lady stocked lampshades and lighting.
“It was skimpy at first,” Debbie says, and it took only a few months to stock before opening. To supplement her stock of lampshades and lighting, she incorporated gift items, teacups and pots, and teas from brands like Harney & Sons.
“I was shooting from the hip,” Debbie admits, recalling those first years trying to get her name out in the community and calling her sister who worked for a lampshade store in Portland for advice. She didn’t want her shop to resemble a typical antique store and dived into creating a unique space filled with objects from the past.
When asked how she goes about creating spaces that wouldn’t be out of place in a Dickens or Brontë novel, Debbie shrugs and says it’s something she’s always done. But when pressed, Debbie says that nothing makes it into her shops that aren’t in near-mint condition or something she or her husband, visual artist Ron Lewis (some of whose paintings can be viewed and purchased in-shop), can repair. And no antique makes it into the shop if Debbie doesn’t like it, a definite job perk.
Debbie’s penchant for finding antiques and the success of the Arthur Avenue location, prompted her to open her second location, The Shady Lady Too at 315 West Center St in old-town Pocatello in December 2020. When asked if she was nervous about opening a new shop during the pandemic, she said she wasn’t. She felt it was time for a change and a new challenge. Citing the recent revitalization of downtown, Debbie says she wasn’t worried about the new location taking off. And if the displays shown in these photos and the out-of-town customers who stopped in during our interview before they left town are any indication, neither is this writer.
If you’re in the market for an objet d’art, or something more practical like a side table, or you just want to get lost in history, stop by and see Debbie.
