Sophia's in the News

I just love having fantastic, unique retail in Salem to write about. More than that, I love that the local newspapers - particularly the Salem Gazette - share my appreciation for retail in Salem. This week the Salem Gazette has a wonderful feature about Sophia's, a "unique Essex Street shop inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's artistic wife Sophia Peabody.

Sophia's is a beautiful shop, filled with unique gifts (for yourself and for others!). Kristin D'Agostino does a great job describing the shop, and its owner Marie Cardillo.

Visit the shop on line at http://www.sophiasofsalem.com/.

Here is an excerpt of the article:

Journeys of the heart:

Local artist, entrepeneur recalls life's winding road
Thu Mar 13, 2008

Salem - In following her heart throughout life, Marie Cardillo has often traveled to strange and fascinating places. Her passion for art and business led her to open an Essex Street shop three years ago, which she named after Sophia Peabody, the artistic young wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose family once lived in the 19th-century building across from the Hawthorne Hotel.

Before purchasing the shop Cardillo knew nothing of the building’s ties to the infamously creative Peabody sisters, and had only a general idea of what she would sell. The 50-something entrepreneur, an artist herself, was instantly inspired by Sophia’s story.

“She was the first woman in America who ever sold paintings for large sums of money,” she says. “She would paint lampshades and sell them when [she and her husband] needed extra money. Then Hawthorne would resurrect himself and she would go back into the background again …”

Cardillo discovered the two women shared an independent nature, a love of flowers and a passion for travel. Using these traits to guide her, Cardillo filled the shop with things Sophia might have carried home from her European travels: Handmade pocketbooks, Italian stationary and exotically perfumed French soaps and candles.

“Marie has a vision no matter what she approaches,” said Amy Carlson, a friend and colleague of 10 years. “When she got the shop I went in the first day and it was just nuts and bolts, but she knew exactly what she wanted to do … She can take something plain and turn it into something gorgeous.”

What makes the shop unique is the way Cardillo ties merchandise together, using a keen sense of design and whimsy to make visitors feel they’re on a treasure hunt. Tiny blue robins eggs peek out of finely woven bird’s nests; colored perfume bottles flicker in front of a sunny window. An old-fashioned dress form stands in one corner adorned with bits of fabric and lace Cardillo sewed on by hand.

And standing in the midst of these enchanting things, Cardillo resembles a kind of Victorian mannequin herself, spectacles perched on elegantly powdered nose, silvery hair swept up in a puffy Gibson Girl-like knot that she admits often garners stares from strangers.

“The hair wasn’t intentional, it just happened,” she says. “I forget how odd it is till I notice someone looking at it and I think, Oh my God, maybe I should do something normal.” Smiling, she adds, “But what else would I do?”

In addition to running the shop, Cardillo works part-time for Beverly-based Health and Education Services, a job she’s held for 10 years, helping mentally ill people find affordable housing. With a bachelor’s degree in business and a year of social work training, Cardillo has had many jobs through the years, including realtor, small business consultant and several years spent working for Salem’s Chamber of Commerce. Opening a shop has allowed her to indulge her natural talents for design and business while still staying true to desire to help people.

“If I just had this,’ she says, “just a little shop … I’d have a very narrow worldview … Doing other things gives you more vision or perspective.” For the rest of the article, visit the Salem Gazette.