Most Fairfield University students who shop on Post Road know of the same chain stores, such as Victoria Secret, Banana Republic or Life Is Good. But a new and unique boutique has been gaining publicity in town.
Hazel Daze features original brands that make items such as embroidered pillows and curtains, hand-painted glassware and one-of-a-kind jewelry.
Many of Hazel Daze’s products have been made out of recycled items, such as seatbelts that have been turned into handbags, coasters that are made out of paper and bike parts that have been turned into picture frames.
“I believe strongly in recycled things, and that’s the base, like Fair Trade and all kinds of repurpose things,” said storeowner Lib DeNure. “That’s what I love, so I keep trying to find more and more of that.”
The boutique also carries many items from neighboring artists including necklaces and bracelets from three local jewelers, along with photography taken by DeNure’s own son and his girlfriend.
The idea of the boutique started when DeNure and her son were coming back from the New York International Gift Fair held in New York City. Though DeNure originally attended the fair to buy more products for her online store, the idea of the boutique was sparked on the train ride home.
“We would be fantasizing about opening a store because we had bought a lot of textural and colorful things that wouldn’t necessarily present themselves online as well as they do with the touch and feel of actually seeing them,” said DeNure.
On that same train ride, the name of the little store was also created. “Hazel” was DeNure’s grandmother’s name, and “daze” went well when combining the two z’s, according to DeNure.
DeNure continues to seek new ways to get the word out about Hazel Daze in order to get more customers, meet new people and learn something original everyday about the business.
“I love learning new things, so this is a whole new avenue for me,” said DeNure. “I don’t like being stagnant. And then people you meet, every single conversation has taught me something else or has made me think about something else. So I like talking to the people; that’s my favorite thing.”
DeNure thanks her family, friends and the people who donated their time to the business. She said that it is “the only way this happened.”
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