Today we’d like to introduce you to Nichola Elo.
Hi Nichola, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We started our little shop out of a love of all things whimsical, unique and fun. After moving back to our hometown from Minneapolis we saw a need for a gift shop that had more to offer the buyer than things you could get a a big box store or on Amazon. With Nichola’s retail background and love of arts and crafts, she set out to build a shop filled with items made by artists, maker and creatives. We wanted to bring a sense of joy to the shopping experience and fill the shop with laughter and sometimes sassy (but always classy) gifts. Our favorite way to find new vendors is walking through an art fair and finding the things that we’ve never seen before. We enjoy having a personal relationship with the vendors and strive to have things in our shop that are truly unique to our space. We occasionally host classes and community events in our cozy basement space, most recently putting together activity bags for children who were feeling safer being at home. Over the years we have found that our little shop is a place where people feel welcomed, safe and joyful. That is exactly what we hoped our little dream would be when we opened almost 7 years ago.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We opened our shop in September of 2019 and you know what that means…we had to endure Covid not long after opening. We had to pivot from how we found our vendors as there were no Art & craft fairs to attend and we had to put a stop to our classes and events. We started a website within a week (it helps to have a tech savvy spouse) and offered curbside pickup and local delivery during that time. It really helped to keep the lights on and the bills paid. We eventually reopened in June of 2020 and noticed that people were intentionally shopping small and supporting local. It was such a boost to our little shop and local shoppers were starting to find us. We quickly built up a little gang of regular shoppers. In the winter of 2023 we had a roof leak and had to close the shop for 4 months for repairs. We tried to give regular updates on social media and managed to make a few sales through our website. As proven during Covid, our regulars showed up once we reopened and business has only continued to grow.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I began my retail career in high school with a part time job at Walmart. I had a brief stint at design school but ended up moving out of state to follow my future husband. While in Texas I managed a well known Kitchen shop then moved on to a small gallery shop where I learned the value of working with Artist and Makers. I was a stay at home Mom to my three awesome kids for 18 years but as they began high school I knew I needed to find something else that I was passionate about. I have always had a good sense of the next trends and have a good eye for unique, exciting products. Opening the shop was a big creative leap for me. It truly is a representation of the inside of my brain. If people didn’t like it, I would have taken things very personally. From the vintage style to our sassy greeting cards everything is carefully sourced. If I wouldn’t want to buy it and don’t want to sell it. Since we have been open we have become a place where people feel that they belong. I’m most proud of the times a customer has come in and shared with me that they came in because they were having a bad day and wanted to feel some joy. That is the biggest compliment the inside of my brain could ever get.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’m an immigrant. It’s not something that I have shared openly until recently. Not because I’m not proud of the fact but because my accent is gone and I just look like any other Minnesota girl. With all the recent ICE activity it was important for me to find a way to help. I started sharing my story in the hopes to collect donations for children affected by what was happening. I moved to the US at 11 years old from England. I became a citizen in 2024 but hold duel citizenship. I try to travel back to the UK every year to visit family and friends. You will see some English influence in the shop and if you’re lucky, sometimes I’ll break out the accent.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.knicknackery.com
- Instagram: knicknackerymn
- Facebook: knicknackeryMN
- Other: tiktok. KnicKnackery
