Trey & Lori Bennett make the optimistic leap with “Down to Earth,” Durango’s first Life is good® Genuine Neighborhood Shoppe

DURANGO, Colo. – Jake and his dog Rocket, the icons of the increasingly popular line of clothing and accessories known as Life is good®, have come to Durango.

Though these fictional stick drawings, and the Life is good company in general, were birthed in Boston, likely without any knowledge of Durango, it was as if founders and brothers, Bert and John Jacobs, were channeling the spirit of the town. They created clothing to celebrate the great outdoors, the spirit of sport and the overall pleasures of life. Optimism in a troubled world.

“It’s absolutely Durango,” said Trey Bennett, co-owner with his wife Lori of Down to Earth, the new Life is good® Genuine Neighborhood Shoppe. The retail store opened on Nov. 14 at 1006 Main Ave.

“It’s so nice when people come in here and they take a look at a shirt and go, ‘Oh, this is me,’ and then go to the next one and say, ‘Oh this is me too,’” said Lori Bennett, of the designs that feature Jake biking, hiking, skiing, hot-tubbing – essentially everything that folks do in Durango. “It’s been great.”

As the story goes, the Jacob brothers had been  (unsuccessfully) selling original t-shirt designs door to door in the Boston area for years, but seized on the hand-sketched drawing of “Jake” whose simple, pie-faced grin would emerge a symbol for what was right with the world. Jake’s message: Life is good, and it’s good not because of materialism, but because of the proverbial simple pleasures. Or as Durangaoans put it, “Quality of life.”

That was the fall of 1994. Since that time, Life is good® has grown exponentially, reporting nearly $107 million in sales n 2007. The company started with the basic t-shirt, but has expanded to include numerous lines. Essentially, a Durangoan (and their canines) could find clothing and accessories for just about any occasion (except formalwear) at Down to Earth.

“There are lines for both men and women,” explained Trey, pointing out the higher quality fabrics and sturdy construction. “Good Karma is all organic. Good Vibes is the line for the younger person – the shirts are more fitted. Good Moves, which has the moisture wicking, is the athletic line.”

Hats, bags and backpacks, water bottles, sleepwear, hoodies, infant and children’s clothing, gift for dogs – just about something for everyone.

“And socks. Socks have been huge,” said Lori of the wide assortment of decorative, colorful and even “snuggly” socks. “I ordered extra just to get us through the winter.”

The Bennetts are embodying the Life is good motto – do what you love, and love what you do, though running a retail clothing and accessory store is not what they had envisioned when they embarked on their cross-country trip in 2006.

“We loaded up the kids – Taylor, then 13 and Ethan, then 6 – into a 35-foot motor home and began a well-planned, 7-month odyssey to explore our country,” said Trey of leaving their native Florida. “It took only one sight of Durango and we knew we were hooked.”

“We were here only two days and we were convinced this was home,” said Lori. “One of our first criteria for a new town was to have a ‘downtown,’ not just one that tourists enjoy, but locals too – which is Durango.”

The family arrived during Father’s Day weekend, and had opportunity to witness the community turn-out for the “Who’s Your Daddy” event sponsored by the Durango Discovery Museum and Children’s Museum. At Thanksgiving, Lori and Trey were back in town, house-hunting, and by spring break 2007, the family had moved to a home in Durango’s Animas City area.

“We promised each other that we would wait a year before we jumped into  a business, so that we could get to know the town,” said Lori. To sustain the family, Trey began driving a school bus and Lori substitute taught for School District 9-R. They also enjoyed income from their two Subway franchises in Florida, which was the “family” business. The Bennetts have known and worked together for nearly 25 years.

The couple discovered Life is good while on their cross-country sojourn. The company had just opened up franchise opportunities in 2006.

“We are businesspeople,” said Trey. “We flew to Boston and met with the Life is good team and they approved us for a location.”

The goal was to be open before the holidays, or hold off until May. With the right space in the Downtown not forthcoming, it seemed the latter was inevitable – until Bobby and Lana Duthie, owners of the space at 1006 Main, changed their focus.

“I’d walked by here two or three times and just wrote it off,” said Trey, explaining that the sign solicited only “office space.” “”But one day I came by and he had ‘office space/retail.’ Lori said, ‘call him,’ so I did.”

“We walked into this space and with these great high ceilings, and it had been remodeled, we instantly knew, this was our space. It fit,” said Lori. “We’re actually half the size that Life is good would have liked us to be, but we think this is real quaint and cute, and it’s comfortable.”

Down to Earth sports the “earthy” colors of the Life is Good franchise, and features the refurbished barn wood furnishings characteristic of the brand. Atypical to a Life is good franchise, however, is the “Coke wall” on the south side of the space. Once an exterior wall of what is now Olde Tymer’s restaurant, the red brick is painted with a “billboard” of the early 20th century. As the historic buildings in Downtown enjoy refurbishment, such “walls” are “coming to light.” The Duthie’s and the Bennetts chose to maintain the historic wall in the store.

Down to Earth, located at 1006 Main Ave., is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 6 p.m. on Sunday, though hours may readjust come January.

“But we’ll stay open as late as the community wants us to be open,” said Lori. “I think we’re really going to enjoy this business. We’ll make it work.”

Visit the web site at downtoearthcompany.com in coming months. Until then, further information regarding Life is good is available at www.lifeisgood.com. 

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