Kids & Family

Frippery Continues Post-Sandy Comeback at New Location

Owners says Christmas business was good even right after the storm.

Last December, Heidi Harns-Weitz and Judy Storm, owners of Frippery, were selling their wares to Christmas shoppers without heat or a functional bathroom in their building.

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Just weeks before Hurricane Sandy had heavily flooded their store at 164 E. Park Ave., where they set up shop in 2009, but they were able to clean up and repair enough to return in time for the the holidays.

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“Last year we had a lot of support; we were very lucky,” Weitz said while sitting in a chair in her new store last week.

In March, after four months of working without heat, she and Storm relocated a new few doors west to 140 E. Park, a decision Weitz jokingly calls “a move uptown.” While the previous store at that location, Phoebe's, was unable to recover from Sandy, Frippery has continued its comeback.

“It’s taken a toll on us this year but we’ve come back,” Weitz said.

Frippery sells items that range in price from $3 to $500, for girls as young as five and woman in their 90s, Weitz said. Brands include Freeloader clothes, Vera Bradley bags, and Dogeared jewelry.

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“Dogeared earrings are hot now,” Weitz said when talking about the big-selling times this season. “It’s really big with kids.”

Frippery also offers various consignment items, from locally-made jewelry to postcards featuring Long Beach images taken by city photographers. Weitz also travels to Asia each year, mainly to Thailand, to shop for jewelry to sell at her shop. Weitz and Storm noted that shoppers are given free earrings with every $20 purchase.

The business partners said that during this time of year their shop is an especially popular place to buy small or Secret Santa-type gifts for fellow office workers, everything from $15 scarves to gift certificates.

“Teacher’s gifts is a big thing,” Storm said. “And we’ll exchange anything on gifts.”


Frippery has a second location at 16 Main St. in Port Washington.



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