West Islip Gift Retailer Celebrating 25 Years in Business

West Islip's Hawley Corner Gift Shop is celebrating its 25th year in business and owner Maria Pecorale attributes its longstanding retail success to quality merchandise as well as some specialized services that have gone the wayside in many shops.

“We offer free gift wrapping and free custom personalization services,” said the West Islip resident who’s lived in the community with her husband of 48 years, Anthony, for 47 years.

“We’re getting customers who are the children of the first customers we met,” she said with a smile. “It’s really become a very family kind of atmosphere in that we’ve gotten to know so many wonderful people and West Islip is a wonderful community.”

The store, which boasts seven rooms of items ranging from seasonal holiday ornaments, jewelry, clothing accessories to beach-theme décor and even baby gifts, sits on what used to be the actual corner of Hawley Road and Union Avenue, west of Higbie Lane, before a cul-de-sac sectioned the building from the residential area. Shoppers often mistakenly call it “Hawley’s Corner,” noted Pecorale, but there’s never been an ‘s’ in the name.

The gift shop wasn't Pecorale’s initial foray into business. She and a partner ran Peddler’s 3, another gift shop in West Islip for a decade, before opening on her own store. She first learned the retail trade as a young child as her father ran a store and she learned first hand about the hours required and the dedication needed.

“I had been a teacher and then took many years off to raise five children so I was home about 13 years when I decided to go back to work,” she shared during an interview at the store on Tuesday.

Her advice to new store owners is to accept two realities at the start:  the retail business is one of ups and downs, and it’ll likely take a few years before a good steady profit it attained.

Another reason for her success, she said, is that she’s never been one to jump on retail trends but has stuck to traditional items and décor though she does offer the very popular ‘Elf on a Shelf” collection given it’s been a mainstay for a few years. The store’s price range is also another reason for longevity.

“The most expensive item is probably one of the Vera Bradley pieces we carry, at about $200, but most everything else is very moderately priced. You can get a nice gift or home décor piece to meet your budget,” she told Patch.

Another reason for its popularity may well be that everyone room offers unique and beautiful items. For the holiday season there are a large selection of ornaments, holiday decoration merchandise and the collectible Ginger Cottages collection, which Pecorale said she choose to carry as it meet her values as a retailer.

“It’s handcrafted with exquisite detail and every piece has a ‘secret’ to it. It’s well made and very special. It’s also made by a company whose values I respect,” she explained noting that the vendor hires workers who aren’t able to work anywhere but home for various reasons.

It’s the same reason she carries a certain line of jewelry made in Minnesota. The jewelry is all made in the U.S., which is important to Pecorale.

“These companies employ U.S. workers and I greatly support that,” she said.

While Pecorale isn’t sure she’ll be behind the counter at Hawley Corner after another 25 years, she clearly isn’t ready to retire or pull back on her shop hours.

“We’ve been so lucky to have had this store and so blessed to have met so many great people and live here all these years,” she said.

Right now Hawley Corner is offering a 20% off coupon online: check it out herehttp://www.kpsearch.com/Email-Coupon-hawleycorner.htm.