Supporting Lowcountry locals with a vibrant venue in Beaufort’s charming coastal shopping district is a passion and pleasure for Tabby Shore Gift Boutique’s Jessica Mangano. With 60-plus artists including jewelry makers filling creative displays, guests who stop in can take home a true piece of this South Carolina destination.
“We wanted to bring something to Beaufort that had never been done before, and we knew of so many talented local artists and makers that needed a space to showcase their work,” says Mangano. “In a town full of talented people, tourists want to go where they can get something that’s made locally, so that is where the idea came to mind. And we just kind of bootstrapped it from there.”
Tabby Shore Gift Boutique is centered on a palm-tree lined pedestrian pathway that leads to the waterfront. “You can see the beautiful river from our front door,” says Mangano.
Downtown Beaufort is known for its entrepreneurial flavor. Tabby Shore is next to the bustling Country Cider Co. and a popular coffee shop, drawing in steady streams of foot traffic.
Now celebrating its fourth year in business, Mangano has expanded the shop’s jewelry collection, noting that trending styles this year include gold-plated pieces, everything dainty and infinity jewelry.
“I love that these pieces are easy to accessorize with anything — you can dress it up or down, it doesn’t matter,” she says.
Dainty, personal expressions
Aligning with Tabby Shore’s mission, all of the jewelry the shop offers is made in the Lowcountry, and there are nearly a dozen makers’ works on display, each with a different approach to the art. Mangano’s ever-changing center presentation is seasonal and currently decorated for spring and early summer in a bright floral vibe. So she introduces complementary jewelry pieces to the showcase.“We currently have a lot of coral, soft minty turquoise and mostly gold plating,” she says of this table.
Jewelry lines are displayed by collection and artist throughout the shop. This presentation gives artists a sort of “exhibit” within the shop, and it allows customers to easily find the brands and styles they are seeking. Mangano will also borrow pieces to accessorize mannequins.
Mangano gets creative with displays. For example, shapely pieces of driftwood on walls serve as a “hanger” for cards holding earrings. A wooden bowl holds a showy selection of Elu Cook studs.
The line Indigo Ridge Jewelry, which is made in Beaufort and displayed in a handmade wood display, is really moving, she says. “She uses tiny gemstones and mixes them in with gold-plated detail,” Mangano describes. “Earrings that are really selling are cascading gemstones and all of her pieces are very lightweight and dainty.”
Elu Cook Designs is a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina-based glass artist who works in oceanscape colors. “She takes her glass pieces and fills them with sand from our local beaches and surrounding islands,” says Mangano.
Tourists can select delicate stud earrings holding a pinch of the coastline where they made memories on vacation. “She also does a lot of custom orders for us. Recently we had two sisters come into the shop and they brought us sand from a house they are developing on St. Helena Island,” shares Mangano. “They had a collection of jewelry made for Mother’s Day.”
Customers gravitate toward jewelry and other products with a cause, including Elu Cook. A portion of proceeds from each jewelry sale goes to the Surfrider Foundation in Charleston to support beach cleanups and sea turtle patrol.
“We try to partner with as many give-back makers as we can,” Mangano says.
As for motifs, oyster shells rule in Beaufort.
“Our waterways are covered in oyster bed, so oysters are a whole way of life down here,” says Mangano, providing Clouter Creek Designs based in Charleston as an example. Tabby Shore carries the line’s earrings and necklaces fashioned from oysters harvested from the creek. “She cleans them up, polishes them, fills them and they are rimmed in gold leaf.”
“We currently have a lot of coral, soft minty turquoise and mostly gold plating.” — Jessica Mangano
The oyster studs are the size of a pinky fingernail, filling that demand for dainty jewelry pieces.
“They are a beautiful staple in the shop,” Mangano says.
As earring exchanges have become a festive holiday tradition, “those are the best ones to gift here in Beaufort,” she adds.
Curating the shop
Tabby Shore offers a mix of merchandise that is sourced from both wholesalers along with artisans who sell their wares on consignment.
“That fluctuates, but as we head into the high season from now until December, it’s 50/50, and then in January and February, it tapers to being more consignment,” says Mangano.
The shop uses Square as a point-of-sale system so Mangano can easily run monthly reports to show artists what inventory is sold and disperse payments to them.
As for sourcing, Instagram is a treasure trove, Mangano says. Also, she and husband Kyle, started building their staple of makers to showcase in the shop by attending fairs and markets around town.
“We are nestled in between Savannah and Charleston, so between the two, there are a ton of different markets to find local vendors,” she says.
This allows Tabby Shore to offer a variety of specialty and handmade artisan products, including gourmet foods and Lowcountry delicacies like specialty cocktail sauces, Bloody Mary mixes, jellies and preserves. The core of the shop is filled with home decor, accessories, jewelry and artwork. A candle cabinet offers a “scentsational” selection.
“The shop is set up so you can make a circle,” Mangano says, adding that shoppers looking for artisan jewelry can find a full-circle of options. “We have a little bit of boutique and a little bit of gift,” Mangano says.
