Luxe home decor and plant boutique The Brass Hand opened this past weekend.
The American Southwest-themed shop is the work of owner Heather McCloud, a self-described “desert baby” who has lived in the visually distinctive part of the country almost as much as she has in Ohio.
The Brass Hand, which existed first as an online shop via Instagram, sees the Arizona-born, Ohio-raised woman getting back to her roots.
“I’m actually Latina. My family on my mom’s side is originally from Mexico, so getting in touch with my Mexican roots, and just a desert baby at heart,” she said. “I had been…propagating and growing my own cacti for years, and just became really a passion of mine.”
As is the case with many small business owners, McCloud left her corporate job of a decade just a few years ago. She returned to school at The Ohio State University, and late last year she founded The Brass Hand, which took off quickly.
Then she spotted the storefront at 3327 N. High St. earlier this year, and thought it would be the perfect location for a brick-and-mortar.
McCloud said there aren’t many “true, Sedona, desert lifestyle” boutiques in many places, let alone Columbus.
The shop features an enclosed potting space separated by large antique windows and 100-year-old antique doors — sourced by Columbus Architectural Salvage — where customers can pot their own plants. The Brass Hand plans to have classes with local makers and the ability to reserve the potting space in the future.
There is also a selfie space, featuring a 70-year-old rattan peacock chair surrounded by tropicals and cacti, and a lounge space in the main retail area.
Many of The Brass Hand’s products come straight from the Southwest as well, where McCloud has flown out and had items shipped back a few times in the last few months. She found the “weirdest” and “wonkiest” cacti from a family-owned farm in Arizona — since the shop has grown past the ability for her to grow an inventory herself — and vintage goods from Austin and San Antonio.
Not to be downplayed, there also is a sizable amount of local products. McCloud worked with local makers — including MercadOH, an online vintage/thrift shop curated by Isaac Navar — to introduce desert fragrances and desert colors, in unique lines that are exclusive to The Brass Hand.
“I feel very much at home in Columbus, so it was important to me to highlight local makers and keep it authentic to Columbus, but offer that healing desert energy that’s been so good for my soul, throughout my life,” she said. “There’s kind of this escapism element, like you walk in and it feels like you’re in Sedona, but throughout the shop, you’ll still have that Midwestern charm, that Midwestern vibe, woven right in.”
The Brass Hand is open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sundays.
For more information, follow The Brass Hand on Instagram.
All photos by Taijuan Moorman.