New Canaan”™s downtown is a place where neighbors know neighbors. The streets are dotted with small-business owners who have established a rapport with one another over the years. The storefronts are small-scale, but behind many of the glass doors are trinkets and treasure troves of merchandise worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
From 18th century Chinese tea caddies to Project Runway winner Christian Siriano”™s one-of-a-kind designer gowns, the town outfits itself as a small-business showroom.
The Metro-North train station acts as an entrance to the city. Directly across the street, fashion design store L”™Armoire, which means “the wardrobe,” greets shoppers both local and from a 90-mile radius. Store owner Diane Roth said if it weren”™t for the local station, businesses wouldn”™t be as successful.
“There are very few walking towns left in this country with the interstate highway and Route 1 cutting through,” Roth said. “People gravitate towards the easiest way to get in and out of the city. New Canaan businesses survived during the recession because we have a branch line, and it”™s easy to get to Westchester, Darien and into Manhattan. Without the train it”™d be a different town. The train allows us to be more cosmopolitan.”
The 2,500-square-foot store has been open for 29 years, dressing powerful corporate executives in industries ranging from marketing to finance. Roth said she enjoys finding the perfect outfit for women and that some of her favorite clients are female executives with high net worth. Those are the customers who know exactly what they”™re looking for, she said.
Roth”™s clients come from all parts of the country, from Palm Beach, Fla., and Beverly Hills, Calif., to Manhattan and Greenwich. Her fashion boutique business, which survived through two economic recessions, has found ways to adapt and make wise inventory decisions. While some of her smaller designers went out of business, she said she was able to cut costs and stick with proven designers whose products remain in demand.
“Experience allows you to catch the wind puffs and avoid the big waves,” Roth said.
Business is picking up as the holiday season approaches. Roth said she is hosting trunk shows at her store next month. The shows are expected to generate more foot traffic by giving shoppers an opportunity to meet the designers. Most of her designers are Italian, German, French and American, but she recently picked up the work of a young Japanese designer, Hanaka Maeda of Adeam, who was featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Roth, a board member on the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, said the town is promoting small businesses by holding its 10th annual Holiday Stroll from Dec. 5-6.
The holiday season will not only lure local shoppers to the downtown; it also will give small businesses exposure to hundreds of out-of-towners visiting for the holidays.
Sally Kaltman, owner of Sallea Antiques, opened her shop in 1979 and has seen New Canaan evolve over the years. When she first came to town, the buildings were filled with liquor stores and real estate brokers. Now there”™s a smattering of small businesses like hers and a couple of big-box retailers such as Starbucks, Baskin Robbins and J.Crew.
“I think it”™s very well-balanced,” Kaltman said. “We have dress shops, shoe stores, cosmetics, antique dealers, art galleries. We know pretty much everybody up the street.”
As December is fast approaching, Kaltman said she anticipates Christmas time will be the busiest season of the year for her business. During the holidays, the best-selling items are candles, fireplace inserts and toolsets. She said that”™s not to overlook her collection of rare antique boxes inlaid with silver from the 1800s used to hold sewing kits and jewelry, nor her Chinese porcelain and vases.
When asked how she finds antique items in mint condition, she said, “You pass over a lot of things that aren”™t perfect.” She added that sometimes people sell her items that just need to be dusted off or cleaned, which once they”™re polished are “brought up to luster.”
Kaltman plans to take her antique show on the road to Houston after returning from Chicago the week before. She said she”™s been showcasing her antiques for more than 40 years. Each antique show costs about $10,000, and she usually goes to eight a year.
Down the street, Pennyweights, a family-owned handcrafted jewelry business selling everything from $3 sterling silver earrings to $1,500 diamond-studded bracelets, is seeing an uptick in business. Geoff and Kelly Sigg have been operating their business for nearly 15 years after buying it from another family in 2000.
The perk of a boutique jewelry store that sells fairly inexpensive merchandise is that it can cater to a variety of customers from infants to elderly women. In terms of the owners”™ economic outlook, the market looks favorable for their industry, Geoff Sigg said.
“People are more optimistic and more willing to spend money now compared to the recession,” Sigg said. “For our industry, many of the larger wholesalers have a difficult time. We sell precious metals, and the price fluctuates against the dollar. We”™ve been lucky coming up ”” the dollar is stronger and the price precious metal has gone down.”
Sigg said the best-selling items around the holiday season will include infinity necklaces, bar necklaces and bib necklaces, as well as hand-crafted earrings.
“No other stores have the selection we do,” Sigg said. “Most other retailers in New Canaan are high-end and sell Rolexes and diamond rings.”
Sigg said a lack of parking in New Canaan deters foot traffic in the downtown. He said one suggestion for helping small businesses is to install tiered parking lots that are two or three stories high.
“But neighbors don”™t want those things next to their house,” Sigg said.
For now, Sigg said he”™s been opening his store after business hours on Thursday evenings to catch the last wave of shoppers before they go home for the night.
