Dec 18, 2011

Truffies’ Sue Ellen Clarfeld Extols Value of Local Shops to CommunityBy Kaki HoltPalmBeachDailyNews.com

Palm Beach, FL – Sue Ellen Clarfeld and her husband, Alan Kessler, moved to Palm Beach from Manhattan on Halloween of 1986. Once here, they opened Truffies, a gift shop named after their pet bunny who drew in customers as long as he lived. Twenty-five years later, their dog, Russia, now greets clients, and the couple has earned a reputation as stalwarts in the community.

“Once you find who your kind of people are in this town, it’s a wonderful place to live,” says Clarfeld. “Community is what this town is all about.”

Undaunted by the two well-established stationers in town already, the couple added stationery to their line seven years after they opened.

“Oh, they’re like the little engine that could,” says Laurel Baker of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce. She’s been a customer for years. “They’ve created energy that’s pretty hard to beat.”

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