As Covid hit over the past years and supply chain issues cropped up, Lark Gifts and Nerd Herd Gifts and Games owners Timbrel and Scott Wallace needed a place to store their extra merchandise. To solve the problem, they rented a store on the corner of Lincoln Square at 1 Baltimore St.
It wasn’t long before the couple concluded the space was way too nice to be storage and they decided to turn it into a retail outlet.
As they workshopped ideas for a new store they noticed many of their customers asking for men’s items: “Do you have anything for guys? I’m shopping for my husband, father, boyfriend, or son,” they would say.
A men’s store it was, then, which made sense since it was located right next to the Union Cigar Shop. The smell of cigars sealed the deal: “We need a guy’s gift store here,” they thought.
It happened quickly and the pieces fell together very carefully. The Wallaces named their store “Oh Man!,” a term both descriptive of what the store has to offer as well as a playful turn of phrase on “Oh, man, this is a really cool store.”
“To have a business geared toward mens’ shopping, it’s kind of a new concept,” said Timbrel, “and it’s going really well. You never know how people are going to respond when you do something new and they will experience that there.”
Timbrel said the merchandise is chosen to appeal to male shoppers, but also to women who are shopping for men. “There’s a unisex crossover there,” she said. The store has a wide variety of male-oriented merchandise, from hunting and camping gear to sophisticated accoutrements. The store’s motto became “Guys gifts for everyone.”
Timbrel said that since their September opening the store has seen products flying off the shelves. “Some best-sellers are belts, wallets, fishing rods, ‘old guys rule’ shirts, socks, grooming supplies and more,” she said.
Timbrel said shoppers who haven’t yet been inside often develop theories about what the store will carry, and that they are unlikely to be disappointed, but rather surprised and excited by the diversity of products offered.
When people enter their new store and say “Oh Man!” and feel like there are “guy gifts for everyone,” Timbrel and Scott Wallace know they did something right.
Sam Arkin is a current Junior at Gettysburg College majoring in Political Science and Environmental Studies. He also minors in Art History. His home is New Jersey and he enjoys practicing art, biking, and relaxing along the beach.