Gift Chixx sells unique gifts for any occasion

By Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld….

The women of Gift Chixx — Marcia Ruhl; Shelly Brodie, co-owner, and Karen Sklawer, co-owner — say no occasion is too small to celebrate.

Starting a business in a bad economy takes guts. It also takes a good idea accomplished well if the business is to succeed. That’s the case for Gift Chixx, a unique gift shop that opened in 2009 at 8245 SW 124 St. in Pinecrest.

“No matter what’s going on in the world, they still celebrate life,” said co-owner Shelly Brodie. “They may spend less but they still buy.”

Originally the plan called for Brodie and co-owner Karen Sklawer to do several trunk shows and create a website. Things changed when the first trunk show was a huge success and people loved the items they offered.

“People were so happy,” Brodie said.

Although they weren’t looking for a storefront, the opportunity offered itself and they jumped at the chance. They also decided to do things differently by creating a homey atmosphere where anyone who walks in is greeted with a smile and offered fresh baked snacks.

“It’s a small town environment store,” said employee Marcia Ruhl.

Visiting the shop can be fun. Sklawer and Brodie love their work and they clearly enjoy helping customers find the right gift. The combination makes the shop a happy place to work and visit.

Gift Chixx is filled with a variety of unusual and terrific gifts in a range of prices. The shop thrives on the owners’ passion and their attention to detail. Every gift leaves the store beautifully wrapped. Each item is inspected before it’s wrapped to make sure the gift is in perfect shape.

In fact, repeat customers trust Brodie and Sklawer to do what’s best for them, whether it be for a baby shower or Christmas gifts.

“We’re gift consultants,” Sklawer said.

Brodie said that their job is to give people ideas and to make the gift giver look good.

Sometimes, they’ll get calls from regular customer saying they are on their way to lunch and could they please wrap up this gift they saw on the website. When the customer arrives, they don’t even have to get out of the car, the gift is delivered to them.

“Everyone likes personal service,” Sklawer said. “When you make a purchase, you should feel good.”

Gift Chixx carries gifts for all occasions. They find the gifts at trade shows but they go after unusual ones and ones that can be monogrammed. They seek out gifts that can’t be found at Macy’s or Bloomingdales. And they look for quality handmade gifts at good prices and they try to buy American-made products as much as possible.

“If someone wants to come in and find $25 hostess gifts, you can find that,” Sklawer said.

There also are gifts for newborns, weddings, bridesmaids, housewarmings, holidays and as well as football season.

Gift Chixx ships anywhere in the nation and can deliver gifts locally.

Several times a year, Sklawer and Brodie host special events at the store, including jewelry trunk shows featuring local designers or girl’s night out, bridal events and themed holiday parties.

At times, their customers send Gift Chixx photographs of how delighted the recipient is with the gift.

And, because information about the shop is enclosed with the gift, recipients often start buying gifts from Gift Chixx. At the same time, the shop’s reputation has grown to the extent that customers are willing to drive long distances to visit the store in person.

Gift Chixx is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 305-232-3214 or go online to www.giftchixx.com.


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