Community Highlights: Meet Jessica Maloan of Gift Horse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Maloan

Hi Jessica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Born in west Tennessee, I moved to Nashville for college. I studied graphic design and worked at Davis-Kidd, a beloved local bookstore. I really loved forming relationships with the regulars and being part of that community. After Davis-Kidd closed, I took on just about any job that I could get, including working at the library, a bike shop, a screen printing shop, etc. I was very interested in printmaking so I would make greeting cards and art prints in my free time and travel around selling them at craft fairs. I started to notice a void in our community for affordable places to show and sell artwork. Nashville has so many talented artists and designers and I wanted to provide a place for people to support that. An old boss introduced me to Katie Vance and we created Porter Flea. Our first event was small: maybe 10 or so vendors in the parking lot of the Shops on Porter (hence the name). I stayed on for nine markets and then decided to focus my efforts on building a permanent brick and mortar store to sell affordable art and thoughtful gifts. I started looking for a location and was able to land the space that was home to High Garden Tea in the Shoppes on Fatherland. We opened in August of 2016 and we’ve been going strong ever since.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been incredibly tough and incredibly rewarding. I had no business background and have learned a lot along the way. I knew what mattered to me and I’ve stayed true to that. It’s important to me that everyone feels welcome and that our products are ethically sourced from independent artists. It’s not the easy path but it’s the best path for me. We’ve survived a tornado and a pandemic and I’m incredibly grateful to my community who goes out of their way to support the shop and keep the lights on through all of it.

As you know, we’re big fans of Gift Horse. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Gift Horse is a gift. shop specializing in stationery, paper goods and locally made gifts. We have one of the largest selections of greeting cards and art prints in Nashville. We don’t go to trade shows; we buy our products directly from independent artists and makers. We strive to have unique items that you can’t find everywhere and hope you discover your new favorite artist or illustrator on our shelves. We want to be a third space in our community. We want everyone to feel welcome whether they are just browsing or making a purchase. We hope to provide joy in these uncertain times.

Coming from a design and craft fair background, our relationships with our vendors is very important. We don’t fill our shelves with products from Alibaba even though it would be better for our bottom line. We know that spending money in our community is investing in our neighborhood.

How do you think about happiness?
It makes me happy to see people get excited about something they find in the shop. I love hearing stories of who will receive the item or who ‘will be so excited when they get this’. I love seeing people bring in their friends from out of town or someone saying “we just got to town and this was our first stop!”. I love feeling like I’ve created a space in my community where people can find the perfect card to celebrate a birthday or reconnect with an old friend.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gifthorsenashville.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gifthorsenashville
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@gifthorsenashville