Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Drury Haley Hardin.
Hi Annie Drury, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Meet Annie + Haley
Neon Soul is the meeting place of two lifelong collectors, makers, and believers that the best things usually come with a story.
Annie Drury has spent more than 15 years working in the creative world, with a background spanning commercial and hospitality interior design, graphic design, branding, art direction, set design, and styling. Raised by an architect and a magician, creativity—and a little bit of magic—was always part of the equation. Her love of visual storytelling eventually found its way into Neon Soul, where she could bring together everything she loves: vintage clothing, found objects, interiors, art, making things by hand, and giving old pieces an entirely new life.
Haley Hardin grew up in New York with an appreciation for vintage clothing practically woven into her DNA. Her grandmother owned a clothing shop on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, D.C., and eventually went on to design her own line of clothing, giving Haley an early glimpse into the creativity and individuality of personal style.
After traveling the world, Haley landed in Charlottesville thanks, somewhat unexpectedly, to a blind date—and stayed to build a life and family. A longtime Phish fan, collector of beautiful things, and mother of two, Haley joined Neon Soul looking for a creative outlet that could bring together her love of vintage and beautiful objects with the joy of actually making something new.
Together, Annie and Haley see Neon Soul as more than a vintage shop. It’s a place to experiment, make, collect, rework, and play—to prove that great design doesn’t have to be new and that something with a past can still become something completely unexpected.
The result is an ever-changing mix of vintage clothing and décor, handmade and reworked pieces, curious objects, creative workshops, and whatever else catches their eye or sparks an idea.
Old things. New ideas. A little bit of magic.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road—but I’m not sure the interesting ones ever are. Neon Soul started with a lot of heart, creativity, and probably a little naïveté about what it actually takes to run a brick-and-mortar retail business. Over the past four years, there have been plenty of lessons around overhead, inventory, staffing, marketing, and the constant pressure to get people through the door. Retail has changed so much, and running a small independent shop means continually asking yourself what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to evolve.
One of the biggest lessons has been realizing that Neon Soul doesn’t have to fit neatly into the definition of a traditional retail store. Some of the most exciting moments have come from experimenting—bringing in other sellers and makers, hosting markets and events, reworking vintage pieces, and creating workshops where people can come in and make something themselves. Haley joining the shop has opened up another chapter of that evolution and brought new energy and ideas into the space.
There are still plenty of unknowns, but we’re becoming much more comfortable with that. Instead of trying to build the perfect retail business, we’re interested in building something flexible, creative, and community-driven that can continue to change along with us. In a lot of ways, figuring out what Neon Soul wants to become has been just as important as figuring out how to keep the doors open.
As you know, we’re big fans of Neon Soul. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Neon Soul is a vintage and creative shop in Charlottesville built around the belief that beautiful things don’t have to be new to feel exciting. We specialize in vintage and secondhand clothing, accessories and home décor, alongside pieces that we’ve reworked, repurposed or made ourselves. But over the past four years, Neon Soul has grown into something that feels like much more than a traditional retail shop. Especially now that we’ve launched a “Craft Kitchen” within the shop, allowing the community to find the same joy in creating that we do.
What does success mean to you?
For us, success is seeing someone step into Neon Soul and light up. Sometimes it’s because they’ve found a piece that instantly reminds them of their childhood, their grandmother’s closet, or a version of themselves they haven’t thought about in years. Other times, it’s watching someone discover an object they would have never considered before, try on something completely outside their comfort zone, or leave one of our craft nights excited to keep making things on their own.
We also define success by being able to show people that sustainability doesn’t have to feel like a sacrifice—it can actually be really fun. Shopping secondhand, reworking something you already own, or turning an old object into something completely different can be more personal, creative and interesting than buying something new.
If Neon Soul can make people look at old things a little differently, feel inspired to create, or realize that personal style doesn’t have to come from whatever is trending at the moment, that feels like success to us. Of course, keeping the lights on is nice too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shopneonsoul.com/
- Instagram: @shopneonsoul
- Facebook: @shopneonsoul
