Making it personal is her business

By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer

NORTHFIELD – Brooke Demko opened B. Fara on New Road in mid-September, and friends, word of mouth, and a loyal customer base earned through craft shows have kept the new gift shop busy.
The Linwood native and Mainland Regional High School graduate went off to college with plans for a future in psychology, but her success creating unique personalized items kept inching her toward a shop of her own.
The shop lives up to its billing as “preppy, sassy, sweet,” and is filled with brightly colored merchandise, just about all of which can be monogrammed or initialed.
B. Fara (Fara is Demko’s middle name) has jewelry, towels, clogs, ice buckets, purses, accessories, tennis racket covers, scarves, luggage, coasters, onesies, and what Demko said has consistently been her biggest seller, towel wraps.
She is an admitted arts and crafts devotee.
“Since I was a kid, I was always making something,” she said. “It has always been a lot of fun for me.”
Demko, 26, said the business all started with the towel wraps.
“I bought one of those pocket sewing machines that you see on the infomercial and just sewed a straight line. I bought the towel, added some ribbon and made a wrap. When I went and showed them at a salon, they took every one I had and called for more right away. That’s when I figured I really had something going on there,” said Demko.
At that time she was living in Virginia and bought a big sewing machine that landed in her bedroom of the condo.
“I would sit and sew and sew, and even when I finally would go to sleep, it was like it was there telling me I still had more work to do,” she recalled.
Her orders increased to the point where she could not manage them on her own and has since contracted someone to do the bulk of her monogramming.
Right now most monogramming orders have a five-day turnaround or less. In January that will change as Demko will have her own monogramming equipment, and much of her work will be done same-day.
“I am really excited to get the machine in here,” Demko added.
The shop has a section of infant and baby items that can be monogrammed and others with cute embroidered designs.
“There has not been one day since we opened our doors that someone does not come in and buy something for a baby,” she said, noting that she recently expanded her lines to accommodate customer requests.
And for those who need a hostess gift, B. Fara is the place to go. There is a display of fun getting-to-know-you kind of games for $20, ice buckets, and canvas totes with a ribbon around them that comes off to do work as a belt. And there’s no need to carry a six-pack of a favorite beverage in a plain old bag when B. Fara has a monogrammed carrier with bamboos handles that can do the job stylishly.
The flair for interesting gifts does have some family roots. Demko’s mother, Nina, runs her own unique gift business, Nina’s Something Unusual in Linwood, and Brooke credits her sister Ilana’s business savvy for helping make B. Fara a special shop.
B. Fara is at 510 New Road in Northfield, just across the street from B.F. Mazzeo’s. Items can be ordered online at www.bfara.com. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For information call (609) 646-4110.