Wow, this place was disappointing. If the prices don't put you at your wit's end, the employees will. Reading a lot of the other reviews I'm relieved it's not just me. We were basically stalked/watched closely/made to feel that we were thieves waiting for the chance to steal something overpriced & ugly, which is most of what fills this shop. I might have a few tattoos/color in my hair, but my sister and I are honest, kind people, who spent WAY too much Christmas shopping but didn't drop a dime here after our experience.
Story: My sister and I have passed by this place several times, seeing it from the highway on our adventures & were curious. Driving home we again saw the pretty Christmas lights from the highway, so we got off at the next exit and backtracked.
As we entered the store, we were excited, but immediately realized it was a severely overpriced tchotchke/knick-knack shop, with some candy, jams/jellies, and jewelry, a la the Vermont Country Store, or the Silo Restaurant in Glens Falls. Also, the smell of a million pungent scents from candles, etc., mingling was instantly nauseating and migraine inducing.
We walked through the labyrinthian layout and decided which way to go. Some of the decor is really neat, but if you've been in one overpriced shop of doodads and sweets, you've been in them all. We realized we probably weren't going to buy much, given the insane markup, but we had driven here, out of our way, and wanted to wander a little in case there was something more in our wheelhouse around the corner. I'm from Vermont, where reusable bags are required unless you want to pay extra for bags, and we'd been Christmas shopping all day, so I had my last small reusable bag from my arsenal over one shoulder and tucked beneath my arm.
My sister and chose a path that went up some stairs. She pointed at a little flimsy wood/plaid house, the kind that you might put on a shelf seasonally, and I said "ooh...let me guess...$20?" It turned out to be like $17, and we chuckled a little while my sister informed me that she'd gotten THREE of the EXACT same thing at Target for $5 or less. Suddenly an associate came up behind us asking "Can I help you?" in a way that let us know she probably wasn't amused at our observations. I felt slightly bad, but also, the markup was hilarious, so...eh...whatever!
We ascended to the room at the top of the stairs, and me, being obsessed with cats, noticed something cat-related. Suddenly the associate was back. Basket in hand. She glared at my reusable bag and said "So, it's store policy..." (stares at bag and shoves basket towards me) "that you carry one of these." It was really obvious she thought I'd break something or use my bag for theft. I was really annoyed and for half a second both my sister and I thought she was going to confiscate my bag or put it behind the counter or something, but she settled for me taking the basket and shoving my bag in it. "I'm from VT" I explained "Where you have to bring your reusable bags with you everywhere." She looked us up and down and sort of nodded and left us, telling us we had to check out the ornament area at the end of the hall that would "blow us away."
The prices certainly did. Everything was glass, which is cool, but I have pets and my sister has kids, so it wasn't really for us. There was a woman in the ornament area who kept asking if we needed assistance, what we were looking for, etc., and she watched us like a hawk. Not sure if Associate #1 had let her know to keep an eye out or if that's just their Boomer "you're not our rich, elderly demographic" attitude towards people under 65, but it was weird and uncomfortable.
We didn't dally and made it downstairs where two employees were chatting, keeping an eye on us, and also asked us if we needed help.
My sister and I had been excited to come here but it was obvious we were viewed with suspicion, watched closely, and not made to feel welcome. We made a beeline for the door, and got the F outta there. read more