Although her retail jewelry store is closing Feb. 26, Heidi
Hess is optimistic about the future.

For the past two years, Hess has been operating Poppy in Washington, D.C.  But now, she tells JCK, “The
general overhead of the retail store wasn’t something I could handle.”

Hess originally opened Poppy to showcase her work as
a designer. “The evolution of the store turned into retail,” she says “I’ve been representing artists and while I’ve been keeping
my own collection going, I’ve been falling short on developing my own line.”

The store’s transition into a retail store isn’t something
Hess felt she was ready to take on, so she decided to close the storefront. She
plans to continue business online.

“I’m going to make the transition as soft as possible,” she
says. “So if someone has a commission and they contact me online, I’ll still
meet with them.”

She says the store has afforded her the opportunity to learn business
techniques, taught her a different approach to self-promotion as an artist, and won her clients
locally and abroad.

“I got out while I was ahead,” Hess says. “I never wanted
for someone to come in and think it wasn’t a good store. I always wanted it to be alive.”

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