Darcy Nelson is blending her love of new and old things at Muse Gifts & Vintage Effects.
Though Nelson began Muse years ago, she launched her 163 Main St., Unadilla site in mid-March.
“My husband has been restoring antique pianos for over 40 years, and it was 2005 when I started renting spaces in antique shops for his pianos, and I had other vintage items, and we did that for a long time,” she said. “In 2012, we bought the pink house (on Main Street in Unadilla), and opened Muse (from the house) in 2013. I wanted to be able to offer new gifts, because I love gift shops, and there’s just not many around, so I wanted a place you can go besides Walmart or Amazon.”
Though the store’s recent relocation was prompted by Nelson’s elderly mother moving in with her and requiring care, she said, the change proved a boon.
“I tried to keep the shop going at the pink house and it was just too hard,” she said. “We moved things back into an antique shop and had booths there, but then when this (space) opened up, I was already in the rhythm of taking care of her and able to coordinate help so that I could be (in the shop).
“I’ve had a lot more foot traffic since I moved, so it has been a better location,” Nelson continued. “It’s a smaller space than I had before and certainly not the hot, big Victorian (pink house), but it’s neat.”
Nelson said Muse’s inventory is “50% vintage and antiques, and the other half is all new, gift-type things.”
“Probably two-thirds of my sales are new, gift items,” she said. “I sell stained-glass lamps, stained-glass panels, Bridgewater candles, journals, cards, toys, scarves, soaps, reproduction tin toys and I have lots of jewelry. But then we also offer a lot of vintage and antique items; one of the back rooms has all antique books, and I sell new Bibles. We have a little bit of everything.”
Customers, Nelson said, also represent a mix.
“I do get a lot of locals, but I also get a lot of people coming out for the (Unadilla) diner, and they’re like, ‘Oh, there’s a little shop here,’” she said. “I enjoy it. It’s right across from the park and it’s nice and I offer complimentary tea. I try to make it a very beautiful space, very welcoming, and I have very mellow music playing and scented candles burning.”
That styling, Nelson said, fosters customer and personal satisfaction.
“It’s been very positive (feedback),” she said. “My sales have been great since we’ve been there, so it’s made me really happy. People who had never been to the old store come in and say they thought (that site) was just apartments. But this (space) is kind of my enjoyment. This is a little sanctuary for me.”
Muse Gifts & Vintage Effects is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.
For more information, find “Muse Gifts & Vintage Effects” on Facebook.