Wicker And Resale

Despite recent cool temperatures and gusty winds, Mystic Wicker Owner Sue Stengel knows spring beckons as more trucks lumber by her Route 1 store, hauling boats on trailers, heading to launches along our Connecticut and Rhode Island shores.

It’s a sure sign of spring, as locals and summer people gear up for sunny, warm days along the coastline – getting their boats and their patio furniture in good working order. Mystic Wicker is open year-around, but it’s getting especially busy now, as the idea of lounging around the deck on pretty wicker furniture gradually becomes reality.

The store at 769 Stonington Road, near Stonington borough’s Elm Street entrance off Route 1, carries a large inventory of wicker furniture for inside and also for outside, called all-weather wicker and made of woven PVC over aluminum.

Sue and her husband, Lew, in business now for 10 years, just added another thousand square feet to their spacious showroom, for a total of 3,000. You’ll find furniture for all kinds of spaces: loveseats, chairs and rockers for porches, accent and dining tables for kitchens, headboards, dressers, desks and mirrors for bedrooms, and cabinets and hampers for bathrooms. They even have furniture for your little girl’s dolls. Prices vary, but a loveseat, for instance, can run about $300, with the all-weather version about 10 percent more.

Got a family heirloom rocker that’s seen way better days? Bring it in for restoration and repair. You’ll also find lots of cushions, with a choice of more than 200 fabrics or use custom fabrics for your special order. The store also carries reasonably priced tabletop items with a nautical theme, with embroidered kitchen towels for $4.95, and napkins and shell-shaped placemats for $3.95. 

Down the road in Mystic, you’ll find furniture, toys, clothing and more for your little darlings at Twice Is Nice, a children’s consignment store at 19 Roosevelt Ave. on Route 1 near the train station.

In business for more than 30 years, this popular store boasts New England’s finest “Children’s Quality Resale” and sells just about everything for children, from newborns to Juniors size 7, and young men’s. Pricing is about half the original cost and the place is jam-packed with deals. It’s an especially great way to save, as kids outgrow clothes and shoes so fast.

The store receives 40 to 50 consignments a day and did a brisk business one recent day, with people consistently coming and going, dropping off items and/or shopping for spring holidays and religious events. Back-to-school shopping beginning in July is really busy, but business is good all year long because, as the manager said, someone’s always having a baby.