Nancy Shaw Brings Magnificence To Main Street

A summer stroll down Main Street in Mystic wouldn’t be complete without taking a luxurious peek at N.L. Shaw’s opulent gallery of vintage Bohemian garnet necklaces, antique diamond rings and golden pearls selling for $50,000. 

N.L Shaw stands for Nancy Lee Shaw, sole business owner and single mother with a passion for rare gems and antiques.  

While working in the gem business, Shaw had a vision to combine and showcase her passion and 16 years later, N.L. Shaw is a venue that locals and travelers from afar seek out for distinctive, one-of-a-kind treasures.   

Like many local business owners, Shaw grew up in the area and with the exception of a stint in Florida has remained here – gracing the town with her resplendent antique and vintage jewelry.

The daughter of a navy man, Shaw was born on the base hospital in Groton and grew up near Eastern Point beach. She recalls her youth with fondness.

“Every day, we’d wake up in the morning, ride to the beach, stay at the beach and come home for dinner,” she says of her daily summer routine.

Although Shaw says Groton hasn’t changed much over the years, she recalls collecting soda bottles in her wagon as a child and saving the money to spend at the local penny candy store near Godfrey Street.

“There was an old crotchety man who would get upset because we couldn’t make up our minds,” she recalls with a laugh.

The beach bumming and penny candy days passed, and Shaw graduated from Fitch High School in 1973. With a teaching degree in physical education, she taught in the public school system in Groton for years, then moved into the private sector and management in the health and racquet business. 

Shaw switched gears in the 1990’s saying, “A friend of a friend was looking for someone to help part time at Mystic Gem Company and I fell in love with the industry - it was fascinating to me.” 

She eventually opened N.L. Shaw in downtown Mystic, and is now at her second location.  Five years in, Shaw lost her initial storefront to fire in 2000.   

“It put me out of business for 3 months and (I) had to start all over again. I was able to recover some things, but that took the wind out of my sails,”  she says. “I am not a person who sits in the corner,  I’m a person of action, so I was determined to get up and running again."

Tragedy aside, Shaw's happy with the layout of her current store and has since had many thrilling moments in her business.  Lord Esher, from Dead Poet Society, purchased an Opal pendant from Shaw and returned the favor by bringing in a signed, first edition of his book on a subsequent visit.

“I fixed an Oscar for an anonymous source," she says. "The globe had broken and we put it back together. That was very exciting."

As far as living and working a stone’s throw from her childhood memories, Shaw says,  "The people of Mystic are amazing. Mystic always had unique mom and pop shops and I like that I’m a part of it.”

She says her main objective has been balancing time with her son, Hunter, and earning a living.

“I have successfully done that," she says. "And so I get to spend time with both things I love.”