Easy Does It
“I was kind of just a shell of myself, if I am being honest.” When Roxy Carlson opened Easy Does It in the spring of 2024, the shop carried a message shaped by years of building businesses, pushing through exhaustion, and learning, slowly and deliberately, how to care for herself. Located in a former dry cleaner, the space is both literal and symbolic - a place to pause, to breathe, and to soften the edges of modern life.
For more than a decade, Roxy and her partner, Alex Jamison, built plant-based businesses in Salt Lake City, beginning with Buds in 2012 and later opening Monkeywrench in 2017. Those years were driven by purpose and passion, but they came at a cost. “Those are the things you need to do when you run a small business,” Roxy said. “But the missing piece for me was that I was not setting boundaries for myself and I was letting the businesses dictate every waking moment of my life.”
Roxy grew up in the Cottonwood Heights area, the youngest of siblings much older than she. “I had a big imagination. I spent a lot of time in my bedroom listening to the radio, just being alone." After studying at Salt Lake Community College, she moved to Los Angeles in 2010–2011 to attend a special effects makeup program for film and television. Roxy then returned to Salt Lake with student loan debt and the realization that the industry was not the right fit. “I was kind of bouncing around for a while,” she said. She worked as a nanny before meeting Alex in June of 2012. Six months later, they opened Buds.
Over the next several years, Buds grew into a beloved fixture, followed by Monkeywrench and their soon-to-be reopened restaurant Boltcutter. Running multiple businesses demanded constant attention. “Who runs three businesses?” Roxy questioned. “We were so involved, and because we care so much, we were always wherever we were needed."
Then the world closed down. “COVID forced me to stop. It forced me to slow down. And it forced me to honestly reflect on the life that I was living.” At home, without the relentless pull of daily crises, Roxy began to notice what had been missing. “I was reading books for the first time in years, picking up hobbies, taking a long bath because I could.”
The realization was unavoidable. “It made me aware of how I was not taking care of myself.” As Roxy slowed down, something shifted. “If I can relax, and pay more attention to myself, I can be more pleasant to be around." Roxy continued, "Today, I am so much happier. I am able to be a better human and a better business owner because of that.”
The idea for Easy Does It emerged gradually during that time. “I wanted to encourage other people to slow down and not learn the hard lessons I learned,” Roxy said. “I did not want anyone else to be in that space.” When the former dry cleaner store became available, the idea took physical form.
The first item Roxy purchased for the shop was not a product meant to sell quickly. It was a deck of affirmation cards she had discovered during the pandemic. “That was my very first piece of inventory,” she said. “Being able to read these positive affirmations on a daily basis was kind of life changing for me.”
Easy Does It is filled with objects chosen for comfort and quiet delight - affirmation decks, journals, jewelry, notebooks, candles, bath salts, hair accessories, cards, and a growing selection of vegan snacks and artisan treats. The shelves also hold a collection of miniatures - tiny ghosts, snakes, flower arrangements, and small ceramic pots - that seem to spark joy simply by existing. Nearly half the inventory is made by local artists, many of whom work on consignment. “I am very passionate about supporting local artists. What I did not anticipate was how fun it would be to form relationships with all of these makers. So many of them are my friends now.”
Easy Does It is the only business Roxy runs on her own. Alex helped build the shelving and offered support, but the shop belongs solely to her. “I wanted to do it on my own to prove to myself that I was capable. I have had a lot of imposter syndrome over the years.”
Beyond retail, Roxy sees the shop as a gathering place. She hosts sound baths, women’s groups, artist pop-ups, and community fundraisers, opening the space to collaboration and connection. “I want this to be a community space,” she said. “It is so much more than a shop for commodities.” The moments that matter most to her happen when people connect - when introductions are made, conversations unfold, and the room feels alive. “When this space is full of people, and I see someone I know introducing themselves to someone else I know, those are the things that bring me the most fulfillment."
Easy Does It was born from exhaustion, reflection, and change. What it offers now is simple and generous. “It is okay to not be okay,” Roxy learned. “But it is also your responsibility to care for yourself.” And that philosophy lives quietly on these shelves, in this space, every day. “I really want the shop to be a community space - it is so much bigger than just selling products.”
