December 11, 2011
Atlanta's Original GLBTQ Store Celebrates 22nd Anniversary
Robert Doyle READ TIME: 2 MIN.
ATLANTA, GA - Brushstrokes has just begun its 23rd year of serving the GLBTQ community in Atlanta, the Southeast, and all over North America via its fast-growing web site.
To celebrate its anniversary, ads begin this week in David magazine, Creative Loafing, Project Q and Fenuxe; bearers turn in the ad and 20% of the customer's sale will be donated to two local charities:
� Jerusalem House, which provides housing for homeless and low-income individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS
� P.A.L.S., which provides pet care, free food and veterinary care to pets of senior citizens as well as to pets of critically ill and disabled Atlantans
The offer is valid until January 4, 2012. Proceeds from the coupons will be split equally between Jerusalem House and PALS.
"We began this store in a tiny hallway space on Highland Avenue on December 1, 1989 with greeting cards, T-shirts and a tanning bed. We have expanded and moved it three times, and now occupy 4,500 square feet of retail space in two stores in Atlanta's Ansley Square mall," said Mark Jackson and Tom Schloeder, co-owners of Brushstrokes.
"We have changed our merchandise mix to stay current and weathered the general downturn in the U.S. economy. We believe the not-so-secret secret of our success is to quickly adapt to our customers' shopping needs. Who would have thought five years ago that underwear would be one of our bigger sales lines? But today it is," said Jackson and Schloeder.
Brushstrokes was voted "Best Gift Shop" in Georgia Voice's "Best of Atlanta 2010" survey and placed in the Best Bookstore category and was runner-up in "Best Gay-Themed Store" in Creative Loafing's 2010 survey.
It is a destination store for many visitors from all over the Southeast and beyond since it's listed in many gay travel guides.
Brushstrokes, one of the Top 5 largest gay-owned and gay-operated retail businesses in the nation, stocks more than 40,000 items including T-shirts, underwear, greeting cards, dance music, DVDs and gifts in two Atlanta stores.
Brushstrokes Pleasures, its adult store, sells and rents DVDs, magazines and books. Both stores have a large web-based delivery-by-post site.
Long-term New Yorkers, Mark and Robert have also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center, Mark is a PhD in American history and literature, as well as the author of the novels Wolfchild and My Hawaiian Penthouse. Robert is the producer of the documentary We Are All Children of God. Their work has appeared in numerous publications, as well as at : www.mrny.com.
