Carm’s Gift Shoppe celebrates 20 years
Carmella Norris remembers a time when customers lined up outside her store at 5 a.m., eagerly awaiting the sound of the engine of a UPS truck – a sure sign of a new shipment of Beanie Babies. As soon as she opened the doors, they would flood her shop and empty her shelves of the handheld, beady-eyed plush toys.
The Beanie Baby retail glory days are long gone, but business has yet to slow down for Carmella and George Norris, who together run Carm’s Gift Shoppe, a quaint retail shop that originated in Hollis.
Carm’s Gift Shoppe first opened its doors in June 1991 when Carmella’s knack for craft-making turned into a side hobby that eventually evolved into her store. The shop was open weeknights and weekends.
The Norrises spent two years in Hollis located at the only set of traffic lights in the town, sharing the small square with the Hollis Country Kitchen and a Dunkin’ Donuts.
