Mother passes Flag Lady store to daughter
The Flag Lady’s Store, a Clintonville institution for decades, has changed hands, from mother to daughter.
Mary Leavitt, who founded the business by selling flags out of the trunk of her car in Illinois in 1980, has sold it to her daughter, Lori Leavitt Watson, who has has been involved in the business since nearly its beginning.
“My journey began almost 38 years ago, hand-sewing and repairing flags in our basement,” said Watson in a news release announcing the ownership change.
“I’m excited to continue building the next generation of The Flag Lady’s Flag Store, because I believe that something as simple as a beautiful, quality flag has the power to rally people together, to celebrate and honor our points of pride, and to inspire hope in our community and our country.”
Watson, 62, said her mother, 85, continues to work at the store, but that “it was just time” for the change.
Watson, a past president of the National Independent Flag Dealers Associ
ation and a recipient of the association’s Betsy Ross Award, plans to expand the store’s national offerings and add “more inclusive and diverse flag designs.”
Leavitt opened the first Flag Lady’s Store on Indianola Avenue in 1982 and moved to the High Street location five years later. The store, one of the nation’s largest flag retailers, sold 36,497 U.S. flags last year, along with about 5,000 Ohio State University flags and 2,500 custom flags, Watson said.
The store reopened a few days ago after being closed two weeks for a renovation, which is expected to be completed in March.
Watson and her friend, Andrea Dowding, also plan to launch a new business, Two Clintonville Girls, offering workshops and resources to support female entrepreneurs in central Ohio. The business will be run out of the Flag Lady’s Store, 4567 N. High St. jweiker@dispatch.com @Jimweiker