Kimberly Boutique has a new sister store next door at 968-C Farmington Ave.,West Hartford.

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford Center shoppers will be able to pick up a baby or hostess gift very conveniently now that Kimberly Mattson-Moster has expanded her real estate and her brand on Farmington Avenue with the opening of Kimberly Gift on August 1, 2014.

The storefront, that most recently housed Max Muscle (that business has moved to 625 New Park Ave.), just became available in late spring, said Mattson-Moster on Friday, while showing off the new store to a steady stream of visitors.

Vacant space right next door created too good an opportunity for Mattson-Moster to pass up, and her first thought was, “I should do something with this space.” But she didn’t have any particular plan – or dream – in mind until she had an “Aha” moment while relaxing over a glass of wine with her husband. “Gifts!” she shouted.

“People are always asking us where to go for gifts,” she said, so she decided to fill the space with the kinds of things she loves.

Kimberly Gift has gifts for grads and babies, housewarming and hostess gifts. It’s a bright, airy, funky space, with porcelain items shown off against a leafy green mural, glassware and yellow pillows in a black and white geometric display, and baby clothes and gifts on simple white shelving. The price points vary as well, beginning as low as $10.

There are items for the kitchen and for entertaining, jewelry and monogrammed leather goods, and even some furniture. Gifts are wrapped in “eco-glam” plain brown boxes that are tied with white string and sealed with a gold “k.”

Mattson-Moster said the eclectic inventory will always change, and some will be seasonal, but it will all focus on “great unique gifts.” Much of the stock in the store now was purchased on a buying trip to Dallas and from smaller designers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, she said.

“A lot [the inventory] is stuff I love, so we are going to carry it now. I want to take everything home myself,” Mattson-Moster said.

It took only about two months to get the new space built out, stocked, and opened, said Mattson-Moster, and she thanked her very cooperative staff at Kimberly Boutique and her understanding husband for their support. Few others knew that she was opening a second store, and most shoppers didn’t even notice that a hole had been cut into the wall of Kimberly Boutique to connect the two spaces, she said.

The store opened Friday morning, and traffic was already “really good,” Mattson-Moster said. She said they already nearly sold out of the porcelain and she had to put in another order.

The modular store displays are flexible, and Mattson-Moster said the offerings will be as well. “We’re going to listen to  people and see what they think.”

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