Tar Heel In 2013, Lisa Meadows and her husband, Gene, sold a couple of businesses and moved from Florida to Hawaii. While in Maui, she took an enjoyable job with a short-term rental company and a position as the chief operating officer, where she stayed for eight years.
During COVID, she and Gene moved to Murphy after purchasing their home in 2019, sight unseen. Their plan was to travel between Hawaii and Murphy.
As a result of the pandemic, her employer suggested she remain in Murphy, as they were going to be closing Maui down. In May 2020, they took one of the last flights out.
The Meadowses were finally bound for Cherokee County.
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After the move to Murphy, Lisa continued to work remotely for her company. It all fell apart on Aug. 8, 2023, when devastating wildfires struck Lahaina in Maui.
According to britannica.com, the fires struck hardest in the historic resort town on the island’s western peninsula, reducing most of it to ash and ruins. Ninety-eight people were killed in Lahaina by the smoke and flames or by drowning, making the wildfire one of the world’s deadliest on record.
Although the Meadowses were living in Murphy at the time of the fires, they had a son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren still in Hawaii.
“It was catastrophic really for Lahaina,” Lisa said.
They lost friends in the fire, and their employees lost homes. However, she felt grateful that her relatives were OK. Her kids helped with recovery efforts.
The company Lisa worked for was destroyed, and 47 of the 52 vacation rentals she managed were burned. She knew she had to do something different. The entrepreneur in her decided to open a business with her husband in downtown Murphy.
The two purchased an existing business on Peachtree Street. A month after the closing, they opened Indigo Mountain Traders, which is named after their 1-year-old granddaughter, Indigo. On Nov. 3, they celebrated the store’s one-year anniversary.
The shop offers a wide variety of distinctive and interesting items – such as ornaments, knives, handcrafted hats, jewelry, soaps and local artwork – as well as clothing, wood works and blankets. The Meadowses curate items from companies owned by women who give back to their communities.
Lisa recently traveled to Colorado to obtain a Hat Masters certification. The hat bar inside of Indigo Mountain Traders is the original one in western North Carolina, adding another dimension to the collection of merchandise.
“Our goal is to be part of the downtown business community and give back to our community,” she said. “Murphy was a wonderful place for us to land; it was like our sanctuary.”
The Meadowses were concerned for their employees’ welfare, so they organized a GoFundMe and raised more than $100,000 to distribute among them in Hawaii to help with recovery.
Lisa was born in New York in 1961 and raised in several areas, including Kentucky, Florida and east Tennessee. She and her husband have been married for 40 years and enjoy their full life, which includes hiking and their dogs.
Details: Visit indigomountaintraders.com or 49 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.