Gifts as intriguing as nature can be found in Old Mystic
Mystic — The Blue Hydrangea gift shop just took root on Main Street in Old Mystic, next door to Holly Hock Farm Antiques and down the road from the Old Mystic Mill.
"It's a garden and nature gift shop," says co-owner Rhonda Hagedorn, a transplant from Atlanta and former flight attendant who said she always had a dream to run her own business.
Hagedorn, who owns the business with husband Keith, said blue hydrangeas are her favorite flowers, hence the name of the shop. But she had never encountered the vivid blue of New England hydrangeas until she moved to Mystic three years ago, taking a job at Stonington Gardens.
Hagedorn's sense of color and fun pervade the 1,800-square-foot shop not far from Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium and right across from the Old Mystic General Store at a busy intersection.
At the checkout area, for instance, straw garden hats have been used to create a whimsical lighting scheme by their placement atop bare lightbulbs. Elsewhere in the store, two crow figures atop a wheelbarrow have been turned into an intriguing fountain in which the mouths of both birds pump out water at varying rates.
"I got a spitter and I got a dribbler," Hagedorn laughed.
The well-organized store also offers a wide range of nature-related gifts, from bird-festooned pillows to flowery umbrellas to high-end wind chimes. Floral prints, aprons, feeders, terrariums, welcome mats, weather vanes, purses, jewelry, scarves, silk flowers, hanging baskets and garden tools are just a few of the items for sale at the store, which opened June 7.
Hagedorn said she is hoping to support as many local artists and artisans as possible. She already carries works of several locals, including a wood craftsman, an artist who creates floral prints and the maker of Stonington-based Faire Ivy soaps.
"I love the community feel, and the way everybody kind of pulls together to encourage your business," she said.
Hagedorn said she had been saving quite a few items over the years, and had a folder full of gift ideas she had been keeping. The idea of the shop, she said, is to provide an alternative to standard fare at the typical home center.
"It's a happy place," Hagedorn said. "It makes me smile when I walk in the door."
l.howard@theday.com
Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow
What: The Blue Hydrangea
Who: Rhonda and Keith Hagedorn
Where: 41 Main St., Old Mystic
Established: June 2015
No. of employees: 2
Phone: 860-245-5494
Email: bluehydrangea15@gmail.com
Facebook: TheBlueHydrangeaOldMystic
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