A Place To Find The Personalized Gift That Is Truly Yours

By Kaaren Valenta

Dawn Leonardi always wanted her own business but it wasn’t until she was expecting her second son and looking for birth announcements that she had the inspiration that would become Truly Yours.

A former corporate sales professional, she had a home-based business selling educational toys. Then she met someone who sold fine stationery from her home.

“I wondered why I didn’t think to do that,” Ms Leonardi said. “I realized there wasn’t a store in this area that filled that need.”

Ms Leonardi started her stationery business from home three years ago, selling to friends who were looking for unique invitations, announcements, and personalized stationery, then expanded to bridal shows, holiday fairs, and other events. Before long she was representing 15 different manufacturers.

“Nancy Kost at the Magic Garden had my samples in her store which helped to get the word out that Truly Yours existed,” Ms Leonardi said. “Soon more and more people were asking for party favors and gifts, and it was time for me to start looking a place to open my own store.”

After much searching, she almost found a place in Newtown. When that fell through, she discovered that a new shopping plaza, Redwood Plaza, was under construction on Route 6 just over the Newtown border.

“It’s right on the border — I couldn’t be closer,” she said.

 Truly Yours offers a wide range of invitations, stationery, announcements, and unique gifts that range from elegant and sophisticated to affordable and fun. The store is full of items that can’t be found at other stores in the area.

“The whole philosophy of starting this store was to bring a lower Fairfield County kind of store to this area,” Ms Leonardi said. “There are lots of country stores here. This store isn’t country.”

Prices range from as little as $10 for whimsical mugs to $848 for a hand-painted canvas from Provence.

“Now that I have a store I can get more of the top-end lines like Cranes and the Stacy Claire Boyd baby line that I couldn’t do from home,” she said.

The shop offers custom invitations, stationery, and announcements, and also boxed selections that can be personally imprinted. Some of its well-known lines include Carlson Craft, Encore Studios, Elite, Sweet Pea, Regency, the Chatsworth Collection, NRN Designs, Cast Paper Art, Birchcraft, Koza, Shutterbug, SanLori, Nu-Art, Socially Yours, Ribbit-Ribbit, Pen at Hand, and MK & Company.

“Pen at Hand allows you to custom design [cards and stationery] to make a unique gift for someone,” Ms Leonardi said. “ You choose each part of the design so it winds up being uniquely yours. MK & Company creates shadowboxes with the child’s initial and customizes it with birth information and also makes completely custom framed birth announcements.”

Her wedding selections have expanded to include everything from engagement and “save the date” announcements to day-after-the-wedding events.

“We have all the accessories for weddings,” she said. “Then we start with baby showers, birth announcements and so many things for children.”

There are frames — many of which can be customized with a child’s name — and business stationery and business cards, either blank or imprinted through design services offered by Tricia Farin at Jantris Marketing in Newtown.

There are moving announcements, recipe cards, dog and cat note cards and photo books, cards with charms — collect an entire set for a charm holder or key chain — felt gift bags with finger puppets (little girls use the bags as purses) — and infant diaper bags that convert to grocery cart seats. Machine washable, these bags are sturdy enough to last through several children.

“I am going to be getting hand-painted children’s furniture from [Newtown resident} Leslie Troy, whose business is called Hickory Dickory Dock,” Ms Leonardi said. “And I will be a Christopher Radko dealer and carry all his ornaments for all occasions all year.”

There is handmade jewelry by a Sandy Hook artist, Virginia McDade Designs, and a line of cards and stationery designed by Ms Leonardi’s sister-in-law, artist Adriaan Kasmire of Southbury.

While the store is so new that stock is still coming in to fill it, Truly Yours already offers many distinctive gifts for the home. There are jewelry and accessory items by Jillery, made from aluminum and beads, that are fun and sophisticated, yet whimsical. Jillery also makes Judaica products, which the store carries along with religious items for other faiths.

There are fine porcelain figurines of mother and child, silk flower arrangements, candle lamps (the shade is a candle that is replaced after burning), a large wine accessory department, wrought iron and porcelain home accessories, fruit bowls and trays, and gifts for little boys and men.

“I have two little boys — Tony is almost six and Mark is two and a half — and a husband, so I know how hard it is to find gifts for them.”

Ms Leonardi’s husband, Tony, is a financial planner whose office was in Newtown but is now in Tarrytown, N.Y. The couple has lived in Newtown for almost eight years.

Truly Yours, located at 78 Stony Hill Road (Route 6) is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 am to 4:30 pm; Thursday, 10 to 7; Friday, 10 to 4:30, and Saturday, 10 to 4. Closed Sunday and Monday. For more information call 743-9161 or visit the website www.trulyyoursllc.com.