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“Women will come in with their heads hanging down and I just talk with them and make them feel comfortable. People always thank me for that.”
Fuzzy handcuffs, lubricants, lingerie, and massagers are just a few items stocked up on the shelves at Lucy’s Love Shop.
The shop, a classy, local lingerie boutique, opened its doors to enhance couple’s romance, piquing their interest every Valentine’s Day in Augusta. The owner, Shelly Ballington, has opened four locations in South Carolina and has now opened Georgia’s first Lucy’s Love Shop off of Washington Road behind California Dreaming.
Often times, customers will walk into the store and ask question, “Who is Lucy?”
Judy Clary, store manager of the Augusta location, giggles and responds with, “There is no Lucy. It’s something that only women have.”
Clary said the store’s shelves will be wiped out in February, which is the busiest month of the year. For this special holiday, Clary and her staff design different homemade gift baskets. Each basket is created with different themes and price ranges. Lucy’s Love Shop even offers a signature line of products; a Lucy-line consisting of massagers, oils, soaps, shoes, bags and more.
“Every basket is different,” Clary said. “I have a ‘sex in the shower’ basket. I even have a ‘Karma Sutra’ basket. We even have different toy baskets. From the rose petals to the lingerie, we have everything.”
Many regular and even new customers swarm the store on this holiday. Lucy’s Love Shop prepares for the busiest holiday by stocking up their hottest items.
“We get so busy on Valentine’s Day that I have two employees behind the counter, one putting stuff out, one in the back making baskets and one out buying different things we might need.” Clary said.
Lucy’s Love Shop is not necessarily targeting a new customer base. Adult novelty users have other options in Augusta to make their purchases. Clary said their rival adult shop in Augusta, X-Mart, is considered a sex shop that caters to mostly men, while Lucy’s Love Shop is a lingerie boutique that caters to everyone. With an attempt to appeal to everyone, Lucy’s said she thrives and lives for creating a comfortable atmosphere for her customers.
“I can tell when it’s a customer’s first time in the shop.” Clary said. “Women will come in with their heads hanging down and I just talk with them and make them feel comfortable. People always thank me for that.”
Clary and her staff allow for their newcomers to leave with a special item, such as a sample pack, to ease any concern and build confidence about openly discussing sex. For her regular costumers, Clary stocks the wildest items.
Picking and choosing what is wild out of all the items in the store can be difficult. Clary said determining what she stocks depends on the likes of the patron.
“The wildest product to me would be shock therapy. But that’s not even that wild.” Clary said.
Lucy’s has regular customers in all age ranges, the oldest one is 89 years old and regularly visits the boutique.
“We get all kinds of people,” Clary said. “It’s part of life, and it’s never going away. All they will do is come out with better toys.”
