Wed, Jul 23 2008
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Published May 16, 2008 11:38 pm - Unique business capitalizes on its specialty items By Keith Purtell Phoenix Staff Writer
One local business has carved out its own niche inside Muskogee’s Farmers Market and hopes one day to expand. L-n-L Creations is the invention of Richard Lindsey and sister-in-law Louise Raigoza. Specializing in all-natural personal care and health products, they take up a spot each Saturday alongside the farmers and other vendors in front of the Muskogee Civic Center on Okmulgee Avenue. “We have a full line of homemade, preservative-free alternative products,” Lindsey said. “We have lotions, butters, pine tar salve for poison ivy, SuperX cream for eczema, goat milk shampoo and body wash, our own goat milk, and free-range chicken eggs.” Lindsey said Raigoza takes care of much of the selling, packaging and handmade items. The two continue to innovate. “We have a new quilted pocket made of 100 percent cotton that will hold up to four potatoes so you can cook them in your microwave,” he said. “They’ll be soft and flaky all the way through.” Lindsey said doing business in a unique venue has turned out to be a boon. “We’ve been with the Farmers’ Market for four years,” he said. “Since we moved to the location in front of the Civic Center, our sales have increased by 60 percent. The setup at Farmers’ Market is not expensive, and you get good customer feedback. In two to three years I hope to open my own shop.” Lindsey said he attributes the increased success in the Farmers’ Market to a more visible location next to a local landmark. “We still see regular customers who stop by religiously, but we also get people who are running around town doing errands or visitors to Muskogee who see the Farmers’ Market,” he said. Creating a specialty line of products has its own demands, Lindsey said. “We use no preservatives, so I make things in small batches and they have a six- to nine-month shelf life,” he said. “Several ladies have told me they keep older ones in their refrigerators. I was buying raw goat milk, and finally I decided to buy my own goats.” Sue Harris, president of the Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce, said that a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a certain service and appealing to a select customer group. “I think of something like Peak’s Place where you go to get a saddle or bridle if you’re a cowboy,” she said. “Or the guy who sells different Oklahoma wines at the Farmers’ Market.” Although the volume may be less, Harris said there is a kind of built-in security for niche and specialty businesses. 
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