On bright autumn days in the town square, the sunlight casts dancing shadow patterns of hats, toys and warmly-dressed mannequins through the window of Indigo Blues.
Gumball machines sit at the front of the clothing store and baseball cards line the glass shelves, but more significant to its character are the people within.
This store is Doug and Denise Holder’s second home. To their children Joni, 8, and Nicholas, 5, it is like a big playhouse; in it they have their own secret hiding places, worn running paths, and a room in which Nicholas challenges anyone to a Nintendo game. He always wins.
Joni spends most of her time studying, watching the store and her brother, or playing dress-up from her infinite wardrobe. As a family, the Holders have successfully operated Indigo Blues for eight years. They take Indigo Blues very seriously, but its popularity is due to its casual and friendly atmosphere.
“When people walk into my store, it’s like they’re walking into my house,” said Doug. “I try to make them comfortable.”
The Holders have lived in Lafayette during the 10 years of their marriage. They enjoy the intimacy of the small town where they know 95 percent of the people.
“I would hate to live in New York,” said Doug, who thinks New Yorkers “talk too fast.”
Though the store consumes most of their time, still, their children are most important to them. The Holders are very concerned with teaching Joni and Nicholas strong values, particularly “honesty, kindness, and love of the family”
After Indigo Blues closes at 5 p.m., Doug and Denise take Joni to her violin lessons or Nicholas to his piano lessons. Nicholas wants to be a doctor or an astronaut. Joni wants to become a photojournalist.
As for Doug and Denise, they are what they want to be, and they “wouldn’t change anything.”
