About Urban Avenue Shoppes
Where Creativity
Meets Individuality.
Where Every Purchase
Has a Purpose.
Discover the unexpected. Express the extraordinary. Shop with purpose.
Welcome to Urban Avenue Shoppes, an independent, creatively driven online shopping destination based in Melbourne, Florida.
We believe shopping should be more than a transaction. It should be an opportunity to discover something distinctive, celebrate individuality, support creative expression, and make a meaningful difference.
From expressive apparel and accessories to original artwork, thoughtfully conceived gifts, home décor, literature, and specialty collections, Urban Avenue Shoppes brings together products that reflect the diversity of the people who discover them.
We're not interested in making everyone look alike.
We're interested in celebrating everything that makes us different.
Featured Collections
Our Story: Built on Creativity. Inspired by Individuality.
Urban Avenue Shoppes was founded on a simple belief: creativity belongs in everyday life.
Under the creative direction of founder Lawrence Bechtel, our store brings together artistic exploration, entrepreneurial innovation, contemporary design, and a passion for creating memorable customer experiences.
Lawrence's work encompasses visual art, literature, poetry, music, and product design. Those disciplines inspire the identity of Urban Avenue Shoppes and influence the collections we develop.
Our approach rejects the idea that retail must be predictable or conventional. Instead, we embrace originality, imagination, humor, self-expression, and the occasional delightful rebellion against the ordinary.
Our products tell stories. Some celebrate beauty. Others inspire reflection, provoke laughter, question convention, or make a bold statement.
Every collection has a personality, and every customer deserves the freedom to express their own.
Explore Our Creative Collections
Bleeding Hearts Collection
Wear your heart. Stand for humanity.
A collection inspired by compassion, courage, empathy, and the belief that caring for others is a strength.
Bleeding Hearts brings together creative expression and charitable purpose. Every qualifying purchase contributes directly to our commitment to support Project Response in Melbourne, Florida.
10% of gross merchandise sales from every Bleeding Hearts Collection purchase is designated for donation to Project Response.
Shop the Collection →
Hell No Kitty™
A little attitude. A lot of personality.
Playful, rebellious, and unapologetically expressive, Hell No Kitty™ celebrates the wonderfully unconventional.
It's a collection for people who embrace humor, personality, and the freedom to challenge expectations.
Shop the Collection →
Urban Stitch Shoppe
Style without surrendering individuality.
Urban Stitch Shoppe explores fashion as personal expression through apparel and accessories designed for customers who prefer originality over conformity.
Shop Apparel & Accessories →
Haiku-A-Month Candles
Twelve months. Twelve moods. Endless inspiration.
Our Haiku-A-Month Candle Collection celebrates the relationship between poetry, atmosphere, and the changing seasons.
Each month's candle features an original haiku inspired by that month's distinctive character, transforming an everyday product into a small encounter with art and imagination.
A meaningful gift for poetry lovers, creative thinkers, and anyone who appreciates life's quieter moments.
Shop the Collection →
The Art of Giving Back
Good Business Should Do Good.
At Urban Avenue Shoppes, social responsibility is not simply an aspiration. It is part of how we believe a business should contribute to the community.
We believe compassion should translate into action, and that commerce can create opportunities to support people beyond the checkout counter.
That belief is reflected in our commitment to Project Response, a nonprofit healthcare organization serving Melbourne, Florida, and surrounding communities.
Our 10% Giving Commitment
Bleeding Hearts Collection
We designate 10% of gross merchandise sales from every purchase in the Bleeding Hearts Collection for donation to Project Response.
NOT AFRAID!
We also designate 10% of gross merchandise sales of the book NOT AFRAID! sold through Urban Avenue Shoppes for donation to Project Response.
These contributions are based on eligible gross merchandise sales, not on the profits remaining after the cost of doing business.
When customers purchase these products, their shopping choices help us direct financial support toward a meaningful community mission.
Bleeding Hearts Collection
Shop the Collection →Why Project Response?
Because dignity, access to care, and compassion should never be privileges.
Located in Melbourne, Florida, Project Response provides essential healthcare, HIV prevention and education, medical case management, and supportive services for individuals and families affected by HIV.
Its work helps people access care, navigate challenging circumstances, and live with greater dignity, stability, and opportunity.
We believe communities become stronger when organizations, individuals, and businesses recognize their shared responsibility to support one another.
Our giving commitment reflects our support for inclusive healthcare, compassion without judgment, and respect for every individual's humanity.
Learn more about Project Response at www.projectresponse.org.
Literature with Purpose: NOT AFRAID!
Words Can Challenge. Stories Can Heal. Courage Can Inspire.
Written by LJ Bechtel, The Unexpected Poet, NOT AFRAID! explores emotional honesty, resilience, vulnerability, and the courage to confront life's difficult realities.
It is a literary expression of the belief that our experiences, including the painful ones, need not silence our voices.
Through this book, creative expression and community responsibility share a common purpose.
10% of gross merchandise sales of NOT AFRAID! through Urban Avenue Shoppes is designated for donation to Project Response.
A book can open a conversation. A purchase can help support a community.
Our Values
Creativity Without Boundaries
We believe imagination deserves room to grow. Artistic expression is central to the products, collections, and experiences we create.
Individuality Without Apology
We celebrate diverse perspectives, identities, personalities, and creative voices. Everyone deserves the freedom to be authentic.
Commerce with Compassion
We believe businesses have responsibilities beyond generating revenue. Our giving commitments are one way we put this belief into practice.
Customer Relationships Built on Trust
We value honesty, clear communication, thoughtful service, and long-term customer relationships. We strive to become a trusted destination, not simply another online store.
Innovation with Intention
We continually explore new ideas and creative possibilities to make our products and shopping experience more meaningful.
More Than a Store. A Creative Community.
Urban Avenue Shoppes is part of a broader creative vision that connects retail, visual arts, literature, music, and independent design.
Through the work of Urban Avenue Studio, Lethceb Publishing, and our creative collections, we believe that art should not be limited to galleries, bookshelves, or concert stages.
Art can be worn. It can be displayed. It can fill a room with fragrance. It can become a gift, a conversation, a memory, or a statement of identity.
Our ambition is to make artistic expression accessible through products that customers can welcome into their everyday lives.
Join Us on the Avenue
Discover Something Different. Make Something Meaningful.
Whether you're looking for a statement-making accessory, a thoughtful gift, an original literary work, or a product that supports a cause, there's a place for you at Urban Avenue Shoppes.
Explore our collections. Discover new creative voices. Celebrate individuality.
And when you can, choose a product that gives something back.
Urban Avenue Shoppes
Creativity. Individuality. Community.