Mary Beth Babcock is the proud owner of Dwelling Spaces, a jewel in the heart of downtown Tulsa. The store will have graced the streets of the Blue Dome District with its presence for almost 3 years this coming August according to Mary Beth, who remembers the day that she stumbled upon the building. “I remember coming in and it was rough and dirt everywhere. I told the landlord, I have a vision.”
Dwelling Spaces is known for it’s unique merchandise and events that unite the town thru supporting local music and artists. The store has gatherings every month featuring DJs, local artists, and art shows. “We just have little restaurants around here cater the events and try to keep things creative,” explains Mary Beth.
They just recently had an interesting appearance by a local artist named Chris Wollard. Mary Beth described the evening more in detail, “We just had this thing called Build-A-Bot with this local metal sculpture and he makes robots. He just did that big tiki and the samurai and those little silver guys up all over the counter (points to some of artist Chris Wollard’s work).” She goes on to explain about another upcoming event, “We’re getting ready to have something really big next month, an artist, his name is Joe Andoe. He’s from Tulsa but lives in New York. He sells his pieces to like Steven Spielberg, Ralph Lauren. His stuff’s in Architectural Digest but he has agreed to hand paint 100 t-shirts and sign and number each one of them and they’ll be $100 each. All the money will go back to this thing called the Tulsa Girls Art School. It’s a school that this local artist has put together for girls that may not be in the most positive environment. So it helps boost their self-esteem. We have the potential to raise $20,000. “
While we were in the store, Jay Lashley of the band Western Heritage stopped by with a camera crew. Jay is currently filming footage for an upcoming reality show that he will be starring in which is based around a recording studio and features two producers, two artists, and possibly a talking dog. Western Heritage is playing D-Fest on Friday but considered Dwelling Spaces to be the perfect venue to do some pre-performance taping. Jay is a six foot four redhead who dresses like a rapper and is definitely ‘made-for-reality-TV’ material.
Dwelling Spaces sells a collection of intriguing “funtire, accessories, gifts,” and pieces from local Oklahoma artists. Cuddle Monsters, which were featured in Oklahoma Today, are the creation of employee Ashley Carver. These little creatures resemble shapes such as the state of Oklahoma and are constructed from felt made from 100% post consumer materials like recycled plastic bottles. Near the cash register is a case of buttons proudly boasting “Dome is where the art is” and “Dome sweet dome.” On a table near the back of the store is a stack of books from the Oklahoma History Center, showcasing the many prestigious musicians to come out of the state, such as the Flaming Lips, Hanson, and Leon Russell. Dog clothes with “Don’t Hate the 918” scribbled across the front and rings made of antique buttons are a few of the other noteworthy items gracing the shelves of Dwelling Spaces. When asked about the best selling items in the store, Mary Beth said those would have to be the T-Shirts that read, “I love Tulsa” and “Okie Grown” which the locals purchase and proudly wear. “There is a weird energy going on in Oklahoma, I never realized how proud everyone is. It’s like yeah we’re from Oklahoma,” states Mary Beth.
Mary Beth did not envision the store becoming such a crucial part of Tulsa culture when she first opened it. Eventually, though, it just seemed logical to vend art from local dealers and to host events to support them. “We have a festival down here called the Blue Dome Art’s Festival and I just kept getting exposed to more and more local arts. I mean, I still like to go to New York to market but if I can get some stuff that is just as cool, I might as well mix it. So I try to keep the local but bring in LA and New York and Italy.” She finds her local artists by word-of-mouth, thru store pop-ins, or by stumbling upon them at art shows. Mary Beth makes sure, however, that she really likes the merchandise before agreeing to sell it within the confines of Dwelling Spaces. “It’s one of those things where I have to love it to do it. It’s hard to sell something that you really don’t believe in.”
An avid music fan herself, Mary Beth explains that she listens to “every style you could imagine” and some of her favorites are Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Costello, and the Avett Brothers. She is looking forward to this year’s D-Fest and the performance by Cake, as well as some of the local artists. “The music that comes out of Oklahoma just blows me away when you start to hear the names.” In addition to the anticipation of the music, D-Fest brings a tremendous amount of traffic into the store and this year Mary Beth is prepared for the crowds and all the chaos. “Each year I’ve learned you need more people on staff. One year we had a guy run out with a stack of Oklahoma t-shirts. We had a guy chase him down and fortunately we got them back.”
Words by Nicole Pajer, photos by Sidney McMullen
Dwelling Spaces: 119 S. Detroit Ave, Tulsa, OK 74120 (918.582.1033)
