People often wonder how Amelia came to be, got the name…

For many years, I traveled the world, working for different bands as their merchandise manager, in and out of different cities every night. Any down time I got between load-in and doors, I would seek out that cute part of town, trying to find a piece of jewelry, bag or art that I couldn’t find anywhere else. I was always looking for the area that maybe a record store, vintage store and gift shop all gravitated towards. After seven years on the road, I was ready to give up all the travel and simply stay in one place for a while. I thought about what my options might be for work and I kept coming back to opening up my own store like the one I was always out looking for.  I had worked in a couple of great shops over the years and had learned a lot from that time. It all just fell into place. An old childhood friend had recently opened up a music venue in Oxford, The Lyric Theatre, and had a room with street entry, sitting empty. I asked if I could rent it and in August of 2009, Amelia was open for business.

Coming up with the name was a little trickier. I wanted an old fashioned name that gave you a feel of the time when handmade was just how it was done; a time that represented the lines of artists that I wanted to carry.  I knew that I wanted to carry different lines that were geared towards travel and also different artists from around the world. I also knew I wanted to give Oxford a different look to the children’s wear and gifts that were offered. Drawing from Amelia Earhart and the children’s book character, Amelia Bedelia, the name Amelia felt right.  It had everything I was looking for and so it came to be.