Catherine Kennedy and Taylor Logue knew from the beginning that they wanted to work together on a big project. The couple had been creatively orbiting one another for years. Kennedy was a senior producer with The Martin Agency and Logue is an artist and graphic design. After being forced to quarantine each other during the pandemic in Richmond, the Richmond natives realized the value of their shared spaces. They then decided to create a retail space to share their vision. The store opened in Brook Road at 320 earlier this year.
Kennedy and Logue’s interiors are filled with touches that they have taken from their home. This creates a comfortable and familiar atmosphere. Their brand color, a lively tangelo, is the same hue that adorns their house’s front door, and the slab of black walnut that serves as the counter in the shop was harvested from a tree in their backyard.
“I’m not a fan of sterile, unapproachable spaces,” Kennedy says. “I wanted it to still be comfortable, and that was kind of why we wanted to bring in a lot of things from our home … so people could really see the objects in their real homes and have it be something a little bit more approachable.”
If the kitchen is the heart of the humble abode, you can feel it beating in Odd Bird’s growing pantry selection. Currently, shoppers can score flavor builders such as Dab’s hot sauce, Aneto seafood and vegetable stock, and Diaspora Co. single-origin spices. There is also tinned fish; finishing olive oils from Olea Pia and Graza; hibiscus tea and stir fry sauce from Woon, a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles; and Edmond Fallot Dijon mustard, in proper tin pails imported from France. Kennedy notes that she’s continuing to develop the store’s edible offerings, working with makers including Richmond-based Ocean Moore of Gan Bei chili crisp to source locally made provisions.
Odd Bird has food on display in a variety of less obvious ways, which are no less tasty. Discover candles fashioned into pasta shapes and mimicking green olives or a hunk of Gruyere cheese — ideal gifts for food lovers who own too many cookbooks already. There’s also a display from artist Jasmine Archie, the talent behind Pretty Shitty Cakes. These unique, ornate layer cakes, commissioned by Odd Bird exclusively, are actually stash boxes, tissue box holders, and even more. You’ll also spot wavy-handled pitchers from Sophie Lou Jacobson, Instagram-darling cutting boards from Fredericks & Mae, and vibrant, dreamy serveware from Paris-based Sabre to create a tablescape that’s drool-inducing before the meal even appears.
Kennedy’s taste for squiggly, colorful, playful, joyous objects is apparent in every inch of the shop. When deciding whether a product is right for the store, she looks at both form and function, plus who made the object and the source of its materials.
“A lot of them are made by artists or at least super small brands, and I think that’s something that was important because those things feel more special, more unique,” she says. “And you feel better about using it, at least I do. That’s something that I really love — being able, when people have questions, to explain a little bit about where the things are from and how they got here.”
Inspired by boutiques such as YOWIE in Philadelphia, Big Night and Little King in Brooklyn and Beacon, New York, respectively, Odd Bird provides an immersive, storytelling shopping experience, with detailed note cards around the store that offer descriptions of the makers. Taylor and Logue hope to strike a balance between celebrating Richmond and bringing in artists and brands that the city doesn’t have access to yet.
The pair plan to evolve their selection of pantry items, and they are also interested in offering on-site workshops and pop-ups with makers. Logue, in particular, is excited for collaborative projects with friends and neighbors including Eli Gray, who created the wood pieces in Odd Bird, and nearby Big Secret, who produced the acrylic picture frames used for artist descriptions. Plus, they’ll roll out an online store in the coming weeks.
Kennedy claims that Jackson Ward’s fellow artists and businesses have welcomed Odd Bird with open arms. “I think our job is to just be welcoming back and to honor Jackson Ward as much as we can.”
Store Scores
Odd Bird’s Five Favorites
House Matches — If you’ve ever thought matches deserved a cuter home than the typical cardboard box or book, you’re on the same page as Athens, Georgia-based artist collective State the Label. This set contains 100 4-inch matches inside a cute little hand-painted home.
Everybody Pepper Grinder — A pepper grinder can be a statement piece, and the eye-catching grinders from Dusen Dusen are just that. A pepper grinder in the center of your table will make a bold statement.
Serving Friends — Wooden spoons are a cooking essential, but designer Selena Liu’s squiggly spoons add an extra touch of whimsy that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without.
Create Your Own Monster Kit — New parents themselves, Catherine and Taylor kept the kiddos in mind, creating a sweet kids’ area where you’ll find this open-ended craft set from designer Donna Wilson.
Odd Bird Shop Swag — Designed by Logue, Odd Bird’s branded merch is some of the freshest around.
Odd Bird’s hours are 11 am to 7 pm, Thursday through Sunday.