Sign at C & G in Chester, CT

Two women drive 30 minutes to visit a store that had recently been recommended. It’s a gorgeous, sunny New England Tuesday afternoon.

It’s almost noon, they park, walk to the shop and see this sign on the door. For those of you who may not have the opportunity to enlarge this image, it says:

12 – 5pm Wed – Sat
10 – 5 Sun
Also by chance
and by appointment

…followed by the shop’s phone number.

Now, I was visiting my friend who lives 30 minutes from Chester where the store is located. But I was there between speaking engagements and had traveled from NYC. I knew the chances of my getting there again anytime soon were slim and none.

I pulled out my iPhone and dialed. My friend looked at me in disbelief. “I would never have called,” she told me.

The owner of  C & G immediately answered her phone and said she’d be right down.

I had no idea she lived above the store. She was fabulously well-dressed, coiffed and even had on a sassy hat. She asked if we’d like to shop right now, or would we prefer to dine in town and meet her back there in 90 minutes when she’d have had a chance to really prepare for us. We opted for the latter.

After a very delicious, relaxing lunch, we walked back to C&G, shopped till we dropped and each found things we could not live without. Some other women entered as well, which made us feel better about having the shop specially opened. It clearly made it more profitable for the proprietress as well.

What I love about observing other soul proprietors is the variety of ways in which they choose to operate and adapt as they go along. I’m curious to hear what you would have done in the same situation. Plus, I highly recommend the sophisticated aesthetic of this new find.