Jun 19, 2007

Gift from home; Deer Street store gives N.H. artisans shelf spaceBy Shir HabermanSeacoastOnline.com

Portsmouth — Deborah Bouchard-Smith is one of the most positive and energetic people around. Ask her how things are going, and the answer is almost always: “Fantastic. It’s another beautiful day on Deer Street.”

In March of last year, after deciding not to follow her company to New York, Bouchard-Smith, wife of Portsmouth City Councilor Ken Smith, was at a crossroads. A lifelong city resident, she wanted to establish something that not only called on her abilities as a gift and event planner, but also allowed her to be part of the community she loves.

“We don’t have T-shirts and shot glasses here,” Bouchard-Smith said. “Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just not what we want to be.”

Instead, the shelves of Maine-ly New Hampshire are lined with exclusive and unique brands of soaps, coffees, teas, jellies, jams, marinades, handbags, clothing — just about anything a discerning visitor or area resident would want. The quality of the products is exceptional and affordable because Bouchard-Smith relies on New Hampshire and New England artisans who are either not well-known or sell only to exclusive shops.

And the inventory is always changing.

“We have new products coming in every day,” Bouchard-Smith said. “When a person comes in and asks ‘What’s new?’ it really is what’s new.”

The ever-changing variety of the Deer Street store is necessary because it forms an intimate connection with another business the Smiths run out of that location. Pulling from her extensive event planning expertise, Bouchard-Smith has continued to be involved in gift planning, and the store is, essentially, the warehouse for the gift business.

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