Exotic Pole-Dancer Closes Her Greeting Card Store: Sex Doesn't Sell

The mononymic pole-dancer JillAnne, who, as we reported, offered customers spending $50 or more at her greeting card store a nice little strip tease, has closed up shop. What went wrong?

Of course the strange hybrid--with Hallmark wholesomeness juxtaposed with the sultry gyrations--seemed a gimmick that would allow JillAnne to feed off of the press infatuation and attract clientele looking to get a little more bang for the buck.

As she recently wrote on her Facebook valediction, "A big thanks to everyone and the media for making 'JillAnne's Winter 2010 Card and Pole Store' a success."

Despite the chirpy tone, though, the combo store ultimately lacked the buoyancy to stay afloat through the holiday season.

As Bowery Boogie reports, the store opened at 162 Allen St. to great fanfare in October, but the proprietor-cum-exotic dancer fell prey to the LES rent that burst her bubble.

JillAnne, though, in a message to GofG claimed she envisioned her store as a mere pop-up from the get-go and never wanted to stay beyond the holiday season.

Booty shorts and badonk have been cropping up of late in the most unexpected of places; even Westway, the hipster-stripster joint that's been gaining momentum, absurdly combines an ironic, thick-framed-bespectacled crowd with the T&A seediness of a Bada Bing-type establishment.

Matt Kliegman and Carlos Quirarte, the owners of the Smile and operators of the Jane Ballroom, naturally run the club that caters to this particular niche--bringing a sort of classy edginess to the sweaty shakes and flesh.

Not only has this pole dancing joint brought an edginess--complicated by context--to the nightlife scene, but it may also allow JillAnne a new career path. The greeting card magnate does dance professionally in clubs, and we wonder whether she might try her hand at Westway, where she might fit in perfectly with the hipster crowd from her LES provenance.

"I do pole performances in clubs," JillAnne wrote to us, "but also have no need to change career paths from being the card maven that I already am."

It's either that, or shoveling snow.

Customers can still purchase stationary and Get Well Soon cards at jillanne.com, but there will be no virtual disrobing.

[Pole Dancing, A Hallmark At Sultry Greet Store]

[Westway Strip Club Gains Momentum]

[Hipster Stripster: From The Jane Ballroom To West Side Strip Club, Is NYC Nightlife Becoming Gritty (Again)?]

[Image via DailyNews]