Carm's Gift Shoppe Ebbs and Flows With Time

Business Name:  
Business Owner: Carmella Norris  
Phone: 603-889-2276  
Email:  carmsgiftshoppe@aol.com  
Website: none
Date opened: June 1991 In Hollis, then moved to Pennichuck Square in 1993. 

Tell readers a little about yourself and your background.

I was born in New Brunswick, Canada and my family of 7 children and parents put everything we owned in a car and moved to Leominster, Mass. I was 5 years old at the time, went to catholic school for eight years then high school then college all in Massachusetts. I was always very active in all kinds of sports. I am still a gym rat at Gold's Gym in Merrimack. I worked for the Sheraton Hotel in sales for fives years and then at Digital for another five years. I move to Nashua in 1990 with my husband George and have lived in this area since.  We now live in Merrimack.

In a nutshell, describe your business.

Carm's Gift Shoppe opened in Hollis in 1991 at the four corners near the Village Cookery. After two year the shoppe was moved to Pennichuck Square in 1993.  Carm's is a general gift store that changes with the times. We went from wooden hand painted country items to collectible, such as; Precious Moments, Cherished Teddies, Boyd's Bears, etc., to Beanie Babies and now we are into clothing, jewelry, (Sally K's Design Jewelry) a local jewelry designer, Zable Beads, Kringle Candles, Willow Tree Angles, Switchflops, Vera Bradley, Camille Beckman hand cream and lotion and much more. We have an entire room dedicated to Vera Bradley as it has become a very popular item in the fashion world. We have all the colors and styles and also the limited edition pieces.

We also carry Mel's cancer bracelets.  We buy the bracelets at $20 and sell them for $20. All the money goes to cancer research. Carm's has raised over $20,000. for the cancer cause.  

Carm also buys gold – even broken items. Bring in your gold and leave with a check. Carm will also do gold parties and fundraisers for your favorite charity.

What is your favorite part about what you do?

My favorite part of my job is to be able to see my loyal customer returning over the past 21 years. It's like having people come into your home and catching up on the latest scoop. Owning your business is a 24/7 operation but it is also very rewarding. You get to do the buying at the gift shows and when they arrive to the shop it like Christmas opening up the boxes.

What's the most important thing you'd like your customers to know about your business?

What I would like my customers to know is that Carm's is not only my store but their store.  I have  listened to my customers' needs and wants for the past 21 years and then get that product.