Within the walls of Wedgewood Houston’s historic May Hosiery Mills lies a new business that blends the traditions of hand-crafted, American-made goods with modern values of sustainability and inclusivity. Welcome to Poplar Point.
Landen Arnold first conceived of owning his own business in November 2024; by this past July, he was opening the doors to Poplar Point. Poplar Point specializes in their heirloom-quality quilts crafted for outdoorsmen and adventurers alike–all designed & created in house. But their quilts are only the beginning.
The family-run storefront in Wedgewood Houston carries their beautiful, rugged quilts alongside high-end vintage watches, jewelry, and a vintage clothing collection curated for the quality-yet-casual men who might venture into the boutique.
Part of what motivates the vintage side of Poplar Point isn’t just the unique styling element of vintage clothes, but their sustainability. “We both are pretty anti-fast-fashion and have connected values over that,” Jess Gutzman, the design director, said. “The most sustainable option is the one that’s already here.”
Making vintage fashion approachable, especially for men, is important to Poplar Point because they get to influence sustainability in their little corner of the world. “All we can control in our life is us,” Gutzman said, “so we’re trying to be intentional with what we bring in.”
The heart and soul of Poplar Point, though, is the quilts. The team’s experience with the outdoors and service inspired their signature Original Quilt–a gorgeous, hardy blanket made of cordura (the nylon material used in military and police uniforms) with a wool- or fleece-based backing for warmth and durability. They know first-hand that well-made, durable gear can mean the difference between weathering a storm or having to pack up and go home early.
In opening Poplar Point, Arnold wanted to create these blankets for other outdoors-people and first responders as sustainably and as high-quality as possible, straying away from the now-now-now mentality of contemporary consumerism.
When discussing why creating a sustainable product is important to them, Gutzman said, “There’s such a disconnect from the process of a product to the finished product. We go on Amazon because we need something tomorrow, we’re not thinking about how the material was sourced or who made it.”
She especially loves their storefront because of how it connects their customers with the process. “When people come in, we have all our manufacturing right here. So, they are able to look to the right and look to the left, and see exactly how our blankets are made.”
The team also values supporting their local community; they source most of their materials and products as locally as possible– the furthest place they order materials from is Seattle, Washington. “I think it’s really important to be able to support our local economy as much as possible. If people are going to come to Nashville and spend money in Nashville, I want that money to actually go to makers and artists who live in Nashville,” said Gutzman.
Arnold hopes to expand the store’s outreach beyond quilts and vintage by creating a space for people, particularly veterans and those in public service, to find support, community, and mental health advocacy. One way they give back is by partnering with Quilts of Valor to finish the hand-crafted quilts made by the organization’s partners. By supporting Quilts of Valor, Poplar Point is able to give two quilts every month to veterans in need; the team hopes to expand their partnership as their business grows.
Poplar Point also aims to use its physical space to embrace the local community by providing mental health support groups and community events. “We want to open our doors up to first responders, veterans, really anyone who has served our community in a way that’s been emotionally draining,” Arnold said. “It will be a monthly or quarterly event where we hangout, drink coffee, and if you want to talk about the ball game, we can do that, but you can also talk about a really hard shift the night before. It’s all about building a community for these men and women that serve us.”
Visit the store at 434 Houston Street, Suite 131, on their website poplarpointnashville.com, or on Instagram at @poplarpointnashville to support their mission of sustainable, community-first products and service.
“All we can control in our life is us, so we’re trying to be intentional with what we bring in.”