In February of 2000, I fulfilled one of my dreams by opening a gift store filled with unique and artful gifts. So, where did the name come from? No, I am not from the Phine family, although we do think our family is fine. Not from the Whimseys either, though we do have some of those too. In the late fall of 1999, as we were all envisioning what Y2K would bring, I was creating my store concept. Actually, one Sunday afternoon, I was listening to a Jackson Browne album. Okay, it was a compact disk. I am of a certain age….and these terms are still in my vocabulary. Now Jackson is not known for writing fun and uplifting songs, but he is one of my favorite songwriters. The song Something Fine came on as I was thinking about the store, and what to call it. (Lori’s Gift Store just wasn’t on the table). And then it came to me. This gift boutique would be a fine store, but something different, a little twist was needed. I knew I wanted it to be a shop where you’d find high quality, interesting and meaningful gifts that would be perfect for all kinds of occasions. The gift could be something fine,
or something whimsical, and sometimes both!
Thank you, Jackson for the inspiration!
To make sure that I provide customers with truly unique products, I travel throughout the nation, attending the major
gift markets and trade shows held during the year. I love New York! And California! Someday, I hope that global travel will
be included too! Paris, anyone? Finding unique items from new artists and bringing them back to my sophisticated, discerning customers is so much fun! Many lines are not
even shown within the usual market buying system and are
not widely known, YET! There’s an art to gift giving. It feels great to find the perfect gift – both to the giver and the
receiver – whether you’re giving a housewarming gift, a
gift of friendship, or something to simply mark a celebration.
We would love PHINE & Whimsey to be your source
for that perfect gift.
So, go ahead, come on “in” and see what fun and meaningful gifts you can find here. Most items you select will be expertly wrapped in our signature paper and will be shipped to you or directly to your friends and family. Or, if you’re local, give us a call and we will arrange delivery or pick up. We’re a small operation, love customer interaction and are happy to help! If you have any special requests, please let us know! Let us help you find that perfect gift for that special person in your life, even if that person might just be you!
Toward the end of 2009, we closed our storefront to concentrate on our PHINE & Whimsey online store where we hope to continue to offer to you the finest gifts for your family and friends. While we will miss the face to face contact with our fabulous customers, we are only a phone call or email away! Please feel free to contact us at phineandwhimsey@mindspring.com.
Our customers care about the choices they make. The products you will find on our website are created by fine companies that we have had the pleasure to work with over the last 10 years. These companies are exceptional in what they do, and what they bring to us. Many are owned and operated by craftsmen or artists. We strive to offer fine products that you won’t find everywhere.
We believe that finding the perfect gift for your loved ones and friends shouldn’t be hard and definitely should be fun! You just have to know where to look. Whether you feel you have the knack for gift giving or are just trying to develop it, we’d love to help you find something meaningful to give. We have designed our site to help answer your gift giving questions, offer some suggestions and make the process easy.
We like getting to know our customers and are on a first name basis with many. We believe that trust is the basis of the best relationships and something of great value. So, we strive to earn trust, to keep it personal and to be a trusted friend in all of our relationships.
"I got to know Lori Jones during her bricks-and-mortar days, and I came to recognize that she is any husband’s heroine. She is an authentic, “small town” merchant. By that I mean she knows and cares about her customers—even those who trade with her only a handful of times per year. Even more usefully, chances are she knows the customer for whom you’ll be buying. The utility of this can not be overstated. This personal service and attention to detail carry through to her new presence on the web.
"Lori is not only a sharp business woman with phenomenal powers of recall. She is also an astute purchaser of interesting items, and an expert merchandiser. If you, like me, prefer the “surgical strike” shopping method when on the web, a quick glance at the Phine & Whimsey web site will always yield good results. As a former retailer myself, I find myself seldom inclined to offer gushing praise but, in commenting on Phine & Whimsey, I can offer nothing else."
"I just received the most adorable invitations for my 3 year old! Shipping was incredibly fast, and ordering was so easy! Thank you so much for everything! I'll be ordering more things soon!"
"Shopping with Phine & Whimsey online was fabulous! After many years of shopping at Phine & Whimsey, I was so sad to see the store close, but shopping online has proven to be just as great. All of my favorite things are just a click away. It was so easy to make my selection and my order arrived extremely fast."
