Lee Slagle and Stephanie Shears, Co-owners of Neat-o Tell us a little bit about your story and why you chose Broad Ripple Village to be the home of your business. We grew up in the area. When we were getting ready to open Neat-o, we knew we wanted the small town and main street feel, so that’s what brought us to Broad Ripple. How many years have you been located in Broad Ripple Village? We’ve been here for four years. How would you describe your business, and why should people visit you? Neat-o features all hand-crafted art and artisan pieces that are all original and handmade. It’s a little art fair you can go to all year round. We have local artists and one-of-kind pieces. I can’t stress the importance of original art and supporting the art and artists. People don’t want to miss something neat, so you come to Neat-o! Can you share with us an experience you had with a program, initiative, or interaction with the Broad Ripple Village Association that could help others understand the BRVA’s impact or mission? Lee: We chair the Broad Ripple Art Walk, so most of our interactions with the BRVA have been through that. The BRVA helps business owners get together, present ideas, and spread the word out about developments to make the Village better. Stephanie: It takes a Village. It’s important to have the area come together for events, and someone has to take that on; somebody has to be dedicated to have their eye on the community, and that’s the BRVA. Last year, the BRVA’s promotion of Small Business Saturday was stellar! It was the best single day sales we have had in the four years we have been open. We could never have achieved that amount of exposure on our own. Their efforts were extremely helpful in making that day super successful. What is your favorite thing about the Village? How about place to eat? Shop? Place to go? Lee: Community Is most important. I think the community feel was important to us especially within our four walls. With Neat-o, it’s family owned and operated, and that mindset extends beyond the shop. One of the great things about Broad Ripple is the mom-and-pop feel, from restaurants to stores. Stephanie: It’s nice that you can easily walk to lots of places thanks to the Monon. As far as restaurants, we like Taste of Havana and Broad Ripple Brewpub. We also really like the Broad Ripple Gazette; it’s a good way to know what’s going on and is a great resource. What excites you about the future of Broad Ripple? For a while the Village might have lost a little bit of the arts and culture feel, and I think there’s an initiative for the arts to come back to the area, like with the new mural project. I’m excited there’s a focus on art again and bringing a good feel back to the Village. ![]()
Visit Stephanie and Lee (R) at Neat-o at 724 Broad Ripple Avenue, Suite 2 to find a variety of local art. Interested in joining the Broad Ripple Village Association? Click here!
