Getting to know: Duderbugs

Name of business:
Duderbugs

Owners/operators:
Shawn and Michelle Smith

When did the business start?
The store opened Aug. 25, 2007.

Tell us in a few sentences what it is that Duderbugs does:
It sells upscale resale clothes – anything related to children, plus maternity clothes for half of retail pricing.

How did you decide to get into this business, and why in Maricopa? If there is an event or realization or circumstance that drove you to this work, what is that? Tell a brief story of how you got here and why:
Michelle Smith: “I went in to get a pair of socks for my son; there was no place in Maricopa to do this, and that’s how it started. Then we saw the demographics, and there are tens of thousands of people here and moving here, a lot of them kids.” Smith said her family loves a clothing resale store in Ahwatukee, “and there’s nothing like that here.”

What are your one or two main specialties?
Duderbugs has things for twins, and it offers maternity clothes. It also has a children’s play area with a little house with a picket fence and a table. “It’s fun stuff so the parents can shop,” Smith said.

Where do you expect to see your business in 5 years?
Duderbugs will be operating in Maricopa and perhaps franchised elsewhere.

Where did the name originate?
“It’s my son’s nickname,” Smith said, although neither can recall how he got it (he’s two years old now). “We just automatically started calling him that when he was born.”

Details:
Address/Location(s)/Directions: 20928 W. John Wayne Pkwy. (next to Bashas’)
Phone: (520) 568-3266
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.duderbugs.com
Square footage: 1,100 s.f.
Products/services offered: Resale kids clothes, maternity clothes.
Hours: 10-5 M-S, Sun 10-2

Photo by Amy Jamieson