Fall 2007

Sister Stores

Ceramics and Crystals

When Eryen LaLonde started The Auracle, in 1999, she launched it purely as a gift shop. In the back of her mind, LaLonde knew she also wanted to incorporate her love of arts and crafts into her business. Such an opportunity presented itself in 2001, and LaLonde expanded her retail business to include a paint-your-own-pottery studio and a gift shop in a new, 4,000-square-foot space.

Since the expansion, the pottery studio has taken on a life of its own, hosting ladies’ nights out, class field trips, birthday parties and summer camps. LaLonde says marketing the two aspects of her business is fun and keeps things interesting. Initially customers had to be educated about the pottery studio, but as word has spread, things have gotten easier and more profitable.

Business operations have been mostly smooth, though LaLonde admits that finding staff who are capable of handling both the pottery and the retail end of things is challenging. She says not much has changed at the gift shop since the inception of the pottery studio. She does, however, offer more products that would be attractive to kids—like small crystals and other goods with lower price points.

Although some longtime customers of The Auracle’s gift shop have never painted anything at the studio, LaLonde says traffic to one part of the store does often drive traffic to the other. “We have many mothers who come in to drop off children at birthday parties who shop at the gift shop,” she says. “The two parts of the business work well together; there’s no sibling rivalry.”