After years in business, Kristi Cross, owner of NOMI Handcrafted Jewellery and Gifts, still finds it a challenge to stock products for her shop. “People will say ‘Oh, it must be fun to do buying.’ But no, it’s the hardest part because I want to be so different from everybody else,” Kristi explains. She’s positioned her shop to be the antithesis of shopping mall gift shops that all stock the same items. “I don’t go to trade shows because everybody else does.”
Instead, Kristi sources online, taking the time to seek out unique products – many of which are handmade and produced in small quantities. She points out a stunning glass ball filled with greenery. “The woman who makes these – she’s from Africa,” Kristi says. “She does the glass blowing herself and inside there’s organic milkweed that she picks from her back fields.” She hasn’t forgotten about local artisans either. In NOMI, you’ll also find delicious-scented natural soaps from Aurora and duct tape wallets made by a local teenager.
