Check Out the Unique Texoma Life Online Store!

We discovered a Texomland original place to shop! Online! Nick and Alyssa Brown opened the doors to their online store to provide a place that shares their love for Lake Texoma with Texomans and the faithful visitors that return time after time to enjoy our lake life. That is exactly how Nick became a part of Texoma’s lively business community! He remarked,” I remember coming to Texoma as a kid with my parents, and the joy was overwhelming! It’s only fair that we pass that on”.

I interviewed Nick last week about this delightful online store, Texoma Life, that surely excites us at LakeTexoma.com.

 Why an online store in Texomaland featuring Texomaland?

Nick: We started Texoma Life as a place to share our love for Lake Texoma with others. Inspired by our lake life, we created a store for those who love Lake Texoma. Texoma Life allows people to live the lake life in their own way and reminds us that this is more than a lake. It’s memories, friendships, shared laughter, and cold drinks.

 When was the official grand opening of Texoma Life?

Nick: We started building social networks and creating our website in the fall of 2016 but didn’t officially launch until this year. Creating designs for apparel and home décor has been a lot of fun too. We’re always looking for new ideas, and we love getting inspiration from our customer’s stories. The response so far has been incredible. We’re fortunate to share in those experiences.

Who is involved in keeping Texoma Life Alive?

Nick: My wife, Alyssa, and I are raising our kids on Lake Texoma and wanted to share our experience with as many people that want to know about it. This is our way of enriching the experiences that others can have here too. At a lake for all seasons, making memories is free. We are family, friends, and neighbors working together to serve the Lake Texoma community.

 What goodies can we find at Texoma Life?

Nick: Growing up, we’d come to Lake Texoma every summer to fish, swim, and camp. Over time, we noticed the lack of available merchandise related to the lake. We loved the area and all it had to offer, but there wasn’t an easy way to represent the lake or show our love for it after leaving. A few small shops exist in the surrounding towns, but they’re not always on the way.

We’re an online store that sells Lake Texoma inspired apparel, home décor, fishing gear, and accessories. With the availability of the internet these days, we’re finally able to provide a satisfying customer service experience. It was time to take the Lake Texoma experience into the digital world, and our customers enjoy that convenience.

So many people are weekenders or visitors to the area, and they come to the lake for a short period of time, then leave. They have little opportunity to discover new things because their time is limited. Their time spent in our area is often taken up on the water, around a campsite, on a dock, in a cabin, or a combination of the sort. It’s time spent creating memories with friends and family. We didn’t want to take away from that time. After all, that’s why we started coming to the lake in the first place.

We wanted to give our friends a chance to take a part of our Texoma lake life home with them. Giving people the opportunity to share their passion for our area in new ways has been extremely rewarding for us and them. We help people tell their Texoma story and connect in ways that were not previously possible.

Us: I am excited about your mission for several reasons, but the key word in it for me is artist. Texomaland features talented artists of all media.

Please give us the scoop on some of your future plans?

Nick: We want to build our network of local manufacturers, artists, suppliers, and producers so that we can better serve our customers. We believe in building up the surrounding community so that we all, as a team, can share in the commerce. We want to be the shining beacon that sets itself apart from the rest. This is a long-term strategy for us and continues to take shape over time.

Are you going to continue to build your inventory with more products?

Nick: Yes! We try and remain flexible where we can. This means taking suggestions from the community and catering our business to what they are passionate about. We ask people what they want or like, and we give it to them. We take designs and photos sent to us and turn them into everything from t-shirts, canvases, clocks, towels, coffee mugs, and even flip-flops believe it or not! This is near the core of our business because we are always looking to bring on new collections of Lake Texoma goods. These can come from a local lighting designer or a carpenter that builds farmhouse furniture. If it fits our brand, we are definitely open to discussing opportunities when local business can benefit.

 How about the reactions and experiences with your customers and fans so far?

Nick: Anything that improves the customer service experience is our primary focus. Adding the value of other local businesses to our model helps us improve the way we support our clients. In a day where good customer service is rare, obtaining goods and services through these channels allows us to grow, while still feeling like a small, local company. This practice goes a long way with our customers and they appreciate our efforts.

While we are honestly learning as we go, responding to our customers is what dictates our direction. Hearing customer feedback and then tailoring our business to their needs is what we do. We let our customers decide how we operate and that translates directly into the offers we present.

Us: I understand that Texoma Life found a willing companion with Instagram.

What about your social media success stories?

Nick: We are on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Maintaining a relevant social following is a job in itself. However, our presence is limited on some of these channels. Our marketing strategy is 90% through Instagram and Facebook. Maybe it’s because we haven’t figured out anything else, yet! (Laughter)

Our Instagram following is the heart of our brand. We take great pride in maintaining a highly engaged audience on Instagram’s platform. It allows us to connect with our customers at their discretion. When we’re at the lake, we take photos and post them to our Instagram page, and people love seeing places they recognize or grew up going to. Our ability to connect in this way truly bridges the gap between our Lake Texoma experiences and the way our followers engage with us on social media.

We’ve developed lasting relationships through Instagram as well. People want to meet up with us while we are at the lake. We’ve been offered boat rides and invited to dock parties. It’s pretty amazing! Next summer we want do some giveaways at the lake and give back as much as possible. We’d rather have an intimate connection with our fan base rather than simply blanket the market with unrelated or irrelevant ads.

 Does Texoma Life advertise?

Nick: Don’t get me wrong, we do advertise, but social proof and word of mouth helped us grow our impressions into the thousands. We’re getting our message out to thousands of people every week and the response is amazing. Quality comes first in everything we do. We own our mistakes at every turn and hold ourselves to high standards.

 Who are your friends in the Texomland community to date?

Nick: We’re still new, but we’ve had some of our photos featured in the upcoming Annual Guide to Lake Texoma publication that is offered by the Lake Texoma Association (LTA). Terri, the executive director of LTA, has gone from our Instagram follower, to customer, to friend. We’re in the works to help develop a new map for their webpage too! It’s nice to feel welcomed in that way.

When we first began, it didn’t take us long to stumble upon LakeTexoma.com. As an absolute powerhouse for all things Texoma, we often referred to your page when conducting research. The information you provide is top-notch. It’s hard to find another site that’s as comprehensive and inclusive as LakeTexoma.com. Ask Google any question about Lake Texoma and it’ll point to your website. (Laughter) We like the way you help improve the experience of visitors to our beautiful area.

These are examples of how we integrate our love for Texoma into partnerships and business relationships. A little goes a long way in that regard. People from all over the U.S. connect with us through our website and social media. They want to be a part of something that they love and we do everything we can to facilitate that experience for them.

I cannot express how much it means to us when someone shares a Texoma story or memory with us. They offer everything from a childhood experience to family outings, camping stories, fishing tales, and summer romances.

How You Can Share Your Texoma with TexomaLife.com

Folks, Nick and Alyssa Brown truly immerse their family into our Texomaland culture.* We are extremely happy to welcome TexomaLife.com into the LakeTexoma.com family as well. We can all genuinely relate to the TexomaLife.com slogan, “It’s a Texoma Thing!”

Get in on their Instagram action year-round ASAP and share Texoma with the world. Please browse their store aisles to find great Texomaland gifts right now for the Christmas season or for any occasion year-round. I love their Pinterest boards and discovered a self-feeding fire rack! For quick suggestions, go to their Twitter feed, and do not forget the old standard, Facebook! Each TexomaLife.com’s social network page showcases great gift-giving choices in all price ranges.

*Picture 2: Ezra Brown

*Picture 3: @ayyholmes (Instagram)

*Picture 4-5: @pictocunningham (Instagram)

*Picture 6: @lonesomebiker (Instagram)

*Picture 7: Texoma Life original design