Final Sale Begins At Beloved Farmington Gift Store

FARMINGTON, CT — The picture is becoming clearer for when a beloved part of the Farmington business community and its arts scene will come to an end.

Bill Handler, who has owned the Design Forum Gallery with his wife Joan Handler since 1973, said this week he is selling off all his stock and the store will close for good in November.

Last March, Handler and his wife announced their upcoming retirement from operating the 902 Farmington Ave. (Route 4) store to spend more time with family.

For generations, the Design Forum Gallery was where you bought your parent's anniversary present, gifts for your wedding party and that card and jewelry for grandma's milestone birthday.

While this year was considered as good a time as any to step down, the store remained open for much of 2023.

But that ends next month and, for now, all merchandise at the store can be had for as much as 65 percent off as the store liquidates its inventory.

According to the owners, initial plans to sell the store have not come to fruition and the couple is selling off its stock and riding into retirement.

Bill Handler said he and his wife are looking forward to that major life milestone, but giving up something that has been a part of their lives for so long is still difficult.

"We have many mixed emotions about leaving Design Forum," Bill Handler told Patch. "On the one hand, we are proud to have completed a half-century of bringing creative and artistic items to the Farmington Valley. "

But, he said, the couple will miss the interactions with customers in the community.

"One of the things we will miss most are the wonderful customers and incredible friends we have made through the years," Bill Handler said.

The role the store played in the Farmington area, is something he said leaves him with "a feeling of great satisfaction."

But, he said, it's time to begin "the next chapter of our lives."

The Design Forum Gallery will remain open on Tuesdays through Saturdays through November from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 902 Farmington Ave.

For more information on the Design Forum Gallery, click on this link.

From March 22: 'Beloved Farmington Gift Shop Owners Selling Store'