Photography by KATHY TRAN
Molly Mathias runs a family Business.
The former certified public accountant’s entrepreneurial leap started with her mother as a partner when Mathias had a side business “for fun,” buying vintage furniture and selling it on Instagram.
That started in Mathias’ Oak Cliff garage and eventually moved to a warehouse in the Design District.
When they decided to parlay that into a retail store a few years ago, the concept evolved into a unique home goods store called the Magic Hour, which moved from Tyler Street to Bishop Arts in 2019.
That store, where Mathias’ dad built most of the shelves and displays based on her design, always had a small apothecary section offering aromatherapy oils, face masks and the like.
That stuff was never a moneymaker until after the pandemic, when people got really into both home décor and self-care. The apothecary business started doing so well that Mathias spun it off into a separate store, Go Easy.
The shop sells items such as crystal eye masks, skin-care stuff, aromatherapy oils and sprays, CBD products and accessories like pipes, and sex toys.
It’s like the Gas Pipe and Condom Sense had a very classy and approachable baby boutique. There’s only one other store in the United States that is similar, Mathias says.
“It’s a very new idea to have all these products in one place, but that’s what my friends and I were into,” she says. “We were talking about vibrators. We were talking about CBD and weed. We were talking about doing face masks, but we were also talking about going to therapy and healing and all these things. And they all go together, really.”
She was afraid at first that her landlords would object, but they’ve been very supportive. The store also hasn’t received a single complaint from neighbors, she says.
It is very complicated on the back end, receiving licenses to sell highly regulated merchandise and dealing with payment processors, some of which don’t allow sales of certain items.
But customers have spoken with their dollars. Go Easy did so well after one year in business that Mathias opened a second one in Houston on June 11.
Mathias, 31, is from Grand Prairie and has a master’s degree in taxation from the University of North Texas. She also worked as a residential real estate agent for several years before quitting to work full time for herself, which she almost didn’t do because of doubts.
“Women are the queens of the side hustle, and we’re afraid to go all in, and it’s scary and risky,” she says. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you cannot do this business unless you’re 100% in it.”
