Denton shopping gem: Sleeping Lizzards

by Misti Day

Sleeping Lizzards is hard to miss when passing through downtown Denton. The pink building decorated with metal lizards is sometimes mistaken as a Mexican food restaurant or pet shop but it intrigues the interest of passersby enough to come in.

That is exactly what owners Beth Klein and Roxane Clark were hoping for when they opened the shop 14 years ago. Best friends, artists, and business partners, these two women started Sleeping Lizzards as a way to sell jewelry on a small scale and express themselves through their art. They soon came to find themselves gaining popularity and having to move twice into bigger facilities. Now the permanent placement of the shop is located on 424 North Elm Street, Denton.

Sleeping Lizzards offers hand-made jewelry, customized wood paintings and during the holiday season they have items such as the “Ne Qwa Art” ornaments, which are individually hand-painted from the inside out. Many of the items that they carry cannot be found anywhere else in the DFW area.

The support Beth and Roxane get from the locals is something that they weren’t fully expecting when they opened. With the items that they offer the women thought they would attract more tourists, but they soon realized that Denton has dedicated locals that appreciate good art and craftsmanship. The majority of shoppers tend to be the local Denton 20- to 45-year-old crowd, but there are a variety of items for people of all ages. They obtain their products from many different places, markets, and local artists while also creating and selling their own jewelry.

Even with the economy not doing so well at this time, Sleeping Lizzards is still thriving. Kein and Clark assume this is because they aim to keep their prices low which attracts more costumers who are looking for a one-of-a-kind gift at a reasonable price. The best part about her job, Beth says, is the contact she gets to have with the customers and it is never the same; every day brings new challenges. Both being artists but also wanting to do other things while having the store, Beth and Roxane share hours and also have part-time help.

Sleeping Lizzards is currently having a 50% off sale on all clothing items and after Christmas Day all seasonal items will be half off. During the holiday season they are open extra hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m.-5 p.m.