It’s Friday and that means I’m featuring another fantastic business in Franklin County! This time it’s one of Hampton’s Specialty Shops: Cornerstone Cottage and owner Judy Wrolson! Cornerstone Cottage is a great little shop on main street of downtown Hampton full of all sorts of treasures.
When I interviewed Judy about how she got started, she said that she has always been a crafter and sold her crafts around town at craft shows and through events with Franklin County Cottage Industries. They focused on building their businesses through education, promotion, and building their brands. They had also been working on taking over the gift shop at Dudley’s Corner at the intersection of I-35 and Highway 3. Within several years, three of the members had established their own brick and mortar industries. She excitedly opened her store on September 11th, 2001. She won’t ever forget that day for more than one reason!
In Judy’s store she stocks a large selection of home decor, jewelry, purses, a small variety of women’s’ clothing, books, children’s toys (including the Melissa & Doug line), Avon products, Watkins products, candles and waxes, and fun food items like dip mixes, etc. She carries so many items in her store, but Judy says something that might surprise people the most is that they are rated as a “B+” book seller with the American Bookseller’s Association, which is pretty high praise for a little tiny bookstore that is also within another store. Each month they receive 50-100 books (prior to publication) for review and their reviews have been featured in Foreword Magazine, Indie’s Next Lists, and some jacket covers (of the reviewed books). She loves being a boutique book store here in Franklin County!
What does Judy like best about owning a store in Hampton and Franklin County? She loves being a member of the Hampton Specialty Shops group. She enjoys the support that comes from belonging to the group in regards to efforts for events and promotions. She also loves having a support group and partners to work with. She said that the people of Franklin County truly make it the best experience. The friendships she has developed and the support that people give her store is beyond anything she could have imagined.
So what are Judy’s hopes and dreams for Cornerstone Cottage? She said it’s complicated right now as she is starting to think about retiring in 5 years or so and she would love to have someone continue on with the store, but in the meantime she strives to have the “next great thing” on her shelves and she wants to continue building friendships and relationships with the customers and the community she loves so much! This coming fall she is celebrating 15 years in business and thrives on the fact that she still looks forward to going to work every day and that she learns something and different every day! The store is always changing and she loves that!
Want to stop by and see Judy and her crew at Cornerstone Cottage? Please do so and tell them Katy sent you! You’ll be glad you stopped! You can check the store out, Monday – Friday 10AM-5PM and Saturday 10AM-4PM or by appointment!
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