Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Fun Company & Swag | Two Shoreline Shops

FUN COMPANY, STONINGTON

These two stores on the Connecticut shoreline might not be exactly alike in dignity, but they share certain attributes that made me want to combine them into one post. They're both great for rummaging and finding surprises, they're both a safe bet if you need to buy a gift, and they both offer substantial discounts - which is not to say that all their goods are inexpensive (far from it), just that you can find very good deals if you look.

Fun Company in Stonington calls itself "the original sample outlet." The front room is filled with discount "designer" clothing (I put designer in quotes because I've never heard of most of the brands I've seen there, but that probably says more about me not being a colorful printed tunic person than anything else) children's things, and assorted sundry gift-y items. The back room is temptingly packed with linens - sheets, comforters, pillow shams, and so on, also discounted, and more little gifts. (I'm talking about the Cutler Street location; there is another, on Water Street, which carries mostly clothing and accessories.)

The reason I love Fun Company (or Fun, or FUN; I've seen it written all of these ways, I don't even know which is right, does it matter?) is for its stock of candles. This store has become my secret source for impressively inexpensive fancy candles that smell approximately 9,000 times better than the icky ones you can buy at those two candle stores in the mall. (Which shall remain nameless, though at least it's clear what their names are.)

I also love this place because sometimes while you are shopping a cat will appear, looking like a puff of black cotton candy with round yellow eyes, and push its little head into your hand while refusing to pose for photos.

Swag on Main Street in Old Saybrook is, well, random. That may be the most overused word of the decade - it's certainly the most overused word by me - but I have to use it here because, damn me if this place is not a collection of pure random. There's art, pretty soaps, clocks, greeting cards, candy, gag gifts, napkins, baby paraphernalia, a seasonal holiday section, and furniture. There's outdoorsy stuff, like insulated bags to tote around your chilled beverages, and a lot of beachy home accessories, like quotes about the beach printed on painted driftwood. There are magnets and pins and lanterns and I don't even know what, and it all changes regularly, so by the time you get there it might have different things entirely. (Like Fun Company, Swag - or SWAG - again, I don't know - also has a second store across the street for clothes and accessories.)

When I went to Swag to take these pictures I bought a tiny cotton flag with my first initial on it, which I don't need but I almost thought I needed at that moment because it was very cute and it cost $1. And that pretty much sums up shopping at Swag.

FUN COMPANY, STONINGTON
FUN COMPANY, STONINGTON
FUN COMPANY, STONINGTON
FUN COMPANY, STONINGTON
FUN COMPANY, STONINGTON
SWAG, OLD SAYBROOK
SWAG, OLD SAYBROOK
SWAG, OLD SAYBROOK
SWAG, OLD SAYBROOK
SWAG, OLD SAYBROOK

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