Entrepreneurs Tara Gorman and Tricia Atkins opened The Truffle Pig in Germantown because they wanted to do their own thing after operating online and trekking regularly to Oxford, Miss. to antique stores to sell their wares. They had a vision for what they wanted their space to look like and had talked about it for years, and then retail space became available at Poplar Pike and Forest Hill-Irene near where they live in Germantown.
The Truffle Pig recently celebrated its opening with a ribbon-cutting event.
“It’s exactly the layout that we wanted,” said Gorman of their 3,600-square-foot space. “Our vision is to have treasures that are different from what you can find anywhere else, hence the truffle pig. We have vendors who bring in their own products in about half the rooms, and the rest of the store is ours.”
Truffle mushrooms grow underground, making it hard for humans to find them. Certain pigs are trained to find the rare truffles.
Many of store’s products are home décor and gift items. The art sold is all local, as well as the jewelry, which is all hand-made.
“It’s important for us to carry merchandise that gives back in some form. For example, we have headbands where if you buy one we donate one to St. Jude for a child with cancer and we have baby clothes where 10 percent of the proceeds go to foster children in Africa,” said Gorman.
The Truffle Pig features some products that are bought for resale and others that are there on consignment.
“Many consignment items are switched out if they haven’t sold in 30 days, so we’re constantly getting new merchandise. There’s something new in here almost every day,” said Gorman.
All items sold are new, with the only exception being refinished furniture.
“We chose to open in Germantown because we felt like there was a need for this kind of store here, and we like to be close to home because we both have a family,” said Gorman, who has hired 10 part-time employees thus far.
Gorman and Atkins might open more locations in the Memphis area in the future, but for now the plan is to focus on their first shop.
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