Small Business Shout Out: Sassafrass Gifts

The following answers were provided by Cathy Deakis, co-owner of Sassafrass Gifts. If you have a business and want to participate in Patch's Small Business Shout Out you can fill out the form here.

When was the business founded?: "2011."

How did your business come to be?: "Two friends from Brighton decided that we wanted to get a fun, eclectic, original gift store in downtown Brighton and after a few discussions, it was full steam ahead. We have now been here a little over a year and are having the time of our lives with customers who became friends and friends who became customers."

Why did you choose to locate to Brighton?: "We both live in Brighton and love the downtown area. We saw how Brighton was putting such an effort in making the downtown what it has become and we were excited to be a part of it. There is no place like home  . . . right?!"

What kind of services do you offer?: "'Gifts for everyone, even yourself.' Wedding, jewelry, accessories, home goods, seasonal, birthday, barware, religious, anniversaries, candles, sympathy, inspirational, baby, stuffed animals, and we even have a 'man' table! You can pretty much find a gift for everyone for every celebration or event. We have been expanding into more home goods the last four months and have new products coming in daily."

What's a fact about your business that most customers probably don't know?: "I don't know if they don't know too much because we strike up conversations all the time! They may not know that Annette and I have been friends for a long time. Our children met first and than we met and clicked. We look like exact opposites so it is easy to tell us apart. When we first wanted to start the business, the one thing that was told to us over and over again is that you should never start a business with your friend. Well, we didn't listen and we are now closer than ever. Our husbands may even be a little jealous!"

What do you want your business to be best known for?: "When you come in our store, we are not only going to give you personal service, we are going to want you to stay. The reason being is that this is so much fun for us so we love helping and getting to know our customers. Customers find themselves hanging out for awhile and just having fun.  Besides the service, we are an eclectic, fun and original store. We go to market with the idea of originality in our heads.  We don't want to sell what you see in other stores. We also want to inspire people and make them laugh so many of our gifts are here to do just that. "

What's your most popular product or service?: "We have so many popular products. But had been very popular since the day we opened our store are our Compendium inspirational books, Nora Flemming Dishes, the light up stars you see in our store front window and our cork cages.  My favorite two quotes from our customers are, "I knew I would find something here", and "What a cute store with so many original products, who are your buyers?" Than I respond with a great big smile, "Just me and Annette.""