Before the arrival of COVID-19 to the U.S., Tamra Brannon, owner and operator of the retail jewelry store Outlaw Woman, moved her business exclusively online after closing her former brick-and-mortar location at 1720 N. Ash, in the West Central neighborhood.

In a way, Brannon got a chance to experience pandemic living before the virus arrived, she contends.

With that being the case, Brannon last month unveiled Outlaw Woman’s new storefront location at 911 W. Garland, in Spokane’s Garland District.

“I needed that connection with my customers and my employees,” she says.

Barely a month after opening, Brannon says she and her three part-time employees have been inundated with orders from customers.

“As fast as we make it, it sells out,” Brannon claims.

Her new retail space most recently served as home to Beerocracy, a COVID-19 casualty which was one of the Garland District’s popular watering holes before closing in January.

Outlaw Woman occupies 1,600-square feet of space of which half is dedicated to retail space and the remainder serves as a warehouse and work studio for jewelry design, she says.

The store’s hours of operation are noon-6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Brannon says Jim Orcutt, of NAI Black, helped facilitate the transaction.

“Jim owns the building, and he was very accommodating as he allowed the owners of Beerocracy out of their lease early while helping me move in,” she says.

Brannon says she signed a lease on Feb. 17 and held the store’s grand opening two months later.

Though her formal education and training was in advertising and finance, Brannon says she’s always had compassion for disenfranchised populations. It’s how Outlaw Woman came to be in 2015; a place where women could come and shop – or design and create their own handmade jewelry – in a safe setting.

“There’s something about seeing people wearing your product that’s really rewarding,” she says. “It’s great to be open to the public again.”