Lazy Fish's laid-back atmosphere and fun, colorful displays make Rick and Debbie Seid's shop "the best place in town for a mood boost."

"We get inspired at market by networking and sharing ideas with our peers, seeing all the new products and colors and taking the time to find the next bestsellers for our customers," Seid said. They also search for unique quality inventory at the best price points available. "It is becoming more important than ever to work with companies that have protected territories and knowledgeable reps."

During a recent shopping trip to the Atlanta market, Seid said they discovered a favorite travel accessories vendor, Rowallan of Scotland, had moved its headquarters to their area. After placing an order at market, however, the Seids were later forced to cancel due to the slowing economy.

"We called and asked if they would consider letting us put their line in our store on consignment," Seid said. "They agreed and we are now their new flagship store. We are doing co-op advertising, we go by their warehouse and pick up special orders for our customers and the products are selling great. It has been a win-win situation for both businesses."

The most enjoyable part of retailing for the Seids is interacting with their customers. "Getting to know each person that walks through our door and working with them for their decorating or gift-giving needs is our specialty."

Lazy Fish, in business since 2005, offers promotional to high-end lines in 2,500-sq.-ft. of selling space and has four employees. Home accents and accent furniture each accounted for 25% of 2008 total sales. Home accent categories include accent furniture, lamps, wall decor, decorative pillows, throws, permanent botanicals, tabletop and garden accessories. Sales in 2008 were less than $1 million.

Key vendors: Guildmaster, Pine Cone Hill, Bagwell, India Handicraft, Sterling Industries, Rolf Crystal, Functional Art, Vance Kitira Candles, Slip, Artistic Ways, Windsor Vanguard, My Island

What markets do you shop? Atlanta in January and July, High Point Market at least once a year, and the Myrtle Beach show in December. We are always looking for local artists and attend area arts and crafts shows. If the fit is right, we offer consignment. We currently feature six local artists in the shop.

Describe your customer. Thankfully, our customer base is made up of mostly loyal local residents. Our busiest time of year is the summer tourist season in the summer, but sometimes our second home residents (spending the holidays at the beach) help make November and December our best months.

How do you handle/adapt to the off-season? January and February is dead at the beach. We take this time to do our inventory, clean up our bookkeeping for year-end, pack away the holiday decorations, go to Americasmart, and take a well-deserved three-week vacation in the islands.

Do you see any trends emerging or remaining "hot" in home accents for your area? With the economic downturn, if the perceived value matches the quality and functionality of an item, customers are willing to pay the price. Simplicity, uniqueness and just having the most comfortable chair with the softest throw possible across one's lap while reading a great book is a trend we see staying "hot" in our area.

What makes you different/sets you apart from the competition? We are beachy, unique, fun and funky with color all around us. We greet all our customers by name if they are regulars or with smiles if first-timers.

How do you reach your customer? Lazy Fish supports local events, charities, schools and the humane society. A wonderful local magazine, Lowcountry Companion, offers color ads alongside an editorial. Distributed quarterly, it has proven to be one of our best sources of advertising. We also try to support our local paper by running ads on gift ideas for every occasion. We do e-mail blasts and mailings for special events including our annual holiday open house which features crab cakes and an open bar.

How have you been affected by/responded to the economic downturn? Our loyal local customers have sustained us through these difficult times. Now that the tourists are returning, they are rushing in to tell us how happy they are that we survived the winter and are still here. We are very careful buyers for our shop and did delay delivery of the majority of our orders until after spring break to see how many tourists would return. The Memorial Day weekend was dreadful for all local businesses, however, sales are increasing slowly now that schools are letting out and families are starting their summer vacations.

Web site: lazyfishpi.com