Newtown + Southbury = Newbury Place

By Nancy K. Crevier

The building that houses Newbury Place may be nearly 200 years old, but tucked away at 41 Oak Tree Road, parallel to Southbury’s Main Street, the six-month-old gift store is a modern shopper’s paradise.

“If you need it, we may not have it,” joked Liz Page of Newtown, who owns the shop with partners Amy Cameron of Newtown and Eva Schick of Southbury, “but if you want it, we probably do.”

The three women opened the store in October after a head-spinning five months. “We started talking about this last May, when the three of us were at a wine tasting at McLaughlin Vineyards. None of us had retail business experience, but we all had retail shopping experience,” Ms Page said.

“We weren’t sure exactly what we wanted, but we knew what we didn’t want to be,” said Ms Cameron. “We wanted a place that was unique and affordable, a place where you could come and find something new each time you come in.”

With that in mind, the three set their minds to putting together a business plan and finding a suitable location. When Ms Page laid eyes on the antique, barnlike building on Oak Tree Road, she knew she had found their space. “We were attracted to the old feel of the building,” said Ms Schick. It oozed with nostalgia, and despite having no electricity, no running water, and needing some decorating TLC, the space exuded exactly the feeling they hoped to elicit with their selection of eclectic merchandise.

Just five months after their first conversation, Newbury Place, named for Newtown and Southbury, opened. “It was a big venture, and we should have been a lot more nervous than we were. It all just worked out,” said Ms Cameron.

All three women share the responsibility of merchandising, although the bulk of that falls on Ms Page and Ms Cameron, while they utilize Ms Schick’s bookkeeping background to balance the business end of the company. “I love to merchandise,” said Ms Cameron, who studied to be a graphic artist before staying home with her two children for the past 15 years. “I love to create a story.”

Ms Page, a former executive recruiter, is a people person, she said, and is excited when she can help a client find just the right gift. “It’s definitely the people I love about this business,” she said. “You meet and connect with so many different people.”

Ms Schick, the two other women agreed, keeps the business organized. “I do have to hold Amy and Liz back a little bit at the trade shows,” Ms Schick admitted.

“We buy in small quantities, turn over what we have, and bring in new things all the time,” Ms Page said. “Our goal is to help you find what you need, help you to get it, and get it wrapped for you.”

Finding what one needs in the 1,700 square feet of well-stocked store space might actually take some assistance. A dizzying array of jewelry, bags, belts, and unusual gift items greets shoppers who step through the doors of Newbury Place. “We have at least 12 to 15 local artists who have items here on consignment,” Ms Page said, including one-of-a-kind sterling silver personalized photo jewelry, a personal favorite of Ms Cameron’s. Swarorski crystal and birth stone bracelets and necklaces, personalized scrapbooks, and handmade purses, as well as designer doggie collars, can be found as a shopper browses the store, perhaps with a cup of coffee in hand from the coffee bar located at the back of the shop. “Our focus is on items made in the US and in-state,” Ms Page said.

“We also have April Cornell items, Botanicas, and other bath items, and Eliza B. belts, bags, and flip-flops,” Ms Cameron pointed out. The aromatherapy Caldrea home care line has sold well, they said. They have also found customers to be very pleased with their unusual selections of gift cards. If a shopper falls in love with that cup of coffee, bags of the house brand java are available for purchase.

Piles of cuddly stuffed animals — including the popular Webkinz — peer from baskets and lean off of shelves. Ceramic serving platters and silver tableware can be found next to a line of nut-free candy and chocolates, and small shoppers will appreciate the jars of penny candy found right at eye-level near the register. The shop owners, mothers of ten children between them, welcome children in the store. “We are moms, first, always,” Ms Cameron said.

“We buy what we like,” said Ms Cameron, and then they hope that their customers will feel the same way. So far, the women think they have hit the nail on the head.

“We have been busy since we opened the door. We want it to be the kind of place where you can come in and find a quick $5 hostess gift or find the perfect wedding gift,” Ms Page added.

It would seem that the fledgling shopkeepers would have enough on their hands at this point, but there is no holding back the three women now that they are underway. An additional 600 square feet of shopping on the second floor will be open to the public by June, they said, filled with even more treasures for shoppers to discover on their journey through Newbury Place.

“We wanted Newbury Place to be a place where friends gather, and it has already happened in just six months,” Ms Cameron said.

Newbury Place, 41 Oak Tree Road, is open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, Monday through Saturday, and from 11 am to 4 pm on Sunday. To order gifts and have them shipped, call 264-7333. Directions to Newbury Place are available online at newburyplace.com.