Lasso the Moon employee BethAnn Sadowski lets the live-in cat Squish roam the countertops in the store yesterday afternoon. PHOTOS BY CAITLIN PRARAT | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: DKS Editors

The store walls are filled with eccentric fashions for women as well as home decor items for the discerning taste.

Credit: DKS Editors

Lasso the Moon has a large section of jewelry-making materials available in the back of the store. Bins are filled with many colors and styles of beads.

Credit: DKS Editors

“Eclectic.”

Leah Tonon chose this word to describe Lasso the Moon, a “nifty, specialty” shop in downtown Kent.

And it’s no wonder. The shop’s merchandise consists of imported goods from places like India, Nepal and Indonesia, as well as photos, paintings and clothes by local artists.

“We like to support (local artists),” said Tonon, the store’s manager.

One employee, according to Tonon, even sells her own jewelry in the store.

For artists to be displayed in the local store, Tonon asks them to bring in samples of their work for her to look at.

“If I feel it fits the aesthetics of the store,” she said, “I’ll go ahead and put it in here.”

The store, located at 135 E. Main St., also offers memberships to a customer club, which is a free way to keep connected with merchandise. The store sends out coupons with no expiration date to customers in the club. Gift certificates are also available.

Beth Ann Sadowski, a Kent State student, said she enjoys her job at Lasso the Moon.

“You get a skill base from working here,” she said.

Sadowski, who is taking the semester off to work, plans on continuing her studies in the fall.

“I’m planning on taking summer courses,” she said. “We just had a lot of stuff going on at the store, so I stayed on to help.

“For spring semester, I knew I wouldn’t be focused enough. I would rather take a few months off and chill out and work than not be focused.”

Although she finds it difficult to balance school and her job, Sadowski enjoys her work at Lasso the Moon.

“My favorite part (of my job is) the different kinds of people,” said Sadowski, who has been working at the shop since November. “It’s a lot of fun talking to customers. That’s the best part – the people that come in.”

The store, which recently started a new Web site, certainly has the ability to draw a wide variety of people. The merchandise includes an array of jewelry, imported clothes and accessories. There is even an entire corner of the store dedicated solely to beads.

The vibrant variety of the store helps it maintain a consistent customer base. Even though it has been kind of slow, something Tonon blames on the economic slump the country seems to be in, she said business is still “pretty stable.”

“We have regulars,” Sadowski said, “which is pretty cool.”

If the merchandise isn’t enough to pull in cascades of customers, the store has another attraction, but this one isn’t imported, and he goes by the name of Squish.

“Squish is our store kitty,” Tonon said.

The cat has been in the store for about two years, according to Tonon, and he is “spoiled rotten.”

“He gets pet all day long,” she said. “We actually have customers come into the store just to see Squish.”

Sadowski agreed.

“That’s actually the best job in the shop – being Squish,” she laughed.

Above all, Sadowski again said the best part about her job was different people she gets to meet and work with.

“You get to work with really nice merchandise,” she said. “It’s quality, but you get to work with some really quality people, too.”

Tonon agreed, calling the store “wicked awesome.”

“People should come in and buy some wicked awesome stuff,” she said, laughing. “Seriously, though. It’s a laid-back environment. It’s cool.”

Contact features reporter Maria Nann at [email protected].