Woodard: Harbor gift shop offers an eclectic selection
After a 30-year career in the aircraft insurance brokerage business, a narrow niche of the insurance industry, Carol King decided she’d had enough of that business. It was time for her to launch a business of her own.
King, a Ventura resident, opened Carol’s Cottage by the Sea store in Ventura Harbor Village in May 2006. It’s an 800-square-foot store next to Le Petit Cafe that sells unusual gifts, collectibles and decorative items for homes.
“I was tired of being chained to a desk,” King said. “At my age, I am well aware of that ticking clock, and wanted to be actively involved in a business I really enjoy … Every time I look out of my big window overlooking the Ventura Harbor, I realize this is a great location.”
She takes pride in the selection of products. They include the Walt Disney Classic Collection, candles of all types, decorative signs, a full line of American Folk Art by artist Jim Shore, and a large selection of hand-blown glass paperweights and eggs crafted by Glass Eye Studio.
“Glass Eye Studio in Seattle offers the largest selection of art glass made in the country,” King noted. “A variety of materials are used in the production of their art glass, from recycled bottles to fine gold to the ash from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.”
One of her favorite collectibles offered in the store is the Wee Forest Folk series of miniatures. Most of the wee folk are mice. Each sculpture is sanded and painted by hand, and each year pieces are introduced to the line. King has been personally collecting the pieces for years.
