Sep 28, 2010

‘Artful gift shop’ aims to widen artists’ reachBy Kendra NoyesGloucesterTimes.com

Manchester, MA — A new shop that showcases the works of local and other New England-based artists is now planning a series of events designed to widen the reach of those artists — and the shop.

Mimi by-the-Sea, which debuted on Manchester’s Central Street last spring, is the second “artful gift shop” opened by the mother-daughter team of Mia Nehme of Beverly and Claudia Bowman of Gloucester. The original Mimi opened in Ipswich in 2007 and is still in operation.

Mimi features “artful gifts for you and your home,” including locally-designed glassware, jewelry, place settings and other collectibles.

“We fill our stores with artist designed and/or made products starting with local and regional artists but going wherever necessary to find finely crafted pieces with an artistic flair and a sense of elegance,” said Nehme.

The first of the upcoming events is a scarf tying party scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 6, from 4 to 7 p.m.. The shop is hosting fashion consultant Jodi Uzdarwin of Ipswich, who will demonstrate various methods of wearing the scarves and show participants how to use the scarf as a versatile accessory.

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