Unique gift items at Bon Lagniappe

Looking for a unique gift for somebody?

Take a look at the original offerings at Bon Lagniappe, located at 750 Southfield Road across the street from Rhino Coffee.

Owner Celia Carr opened the shop in September. After working as a nurse for 30 years, she decided it was time for a change. “This has always been kind of in the back of my head; I’ve always wanted to do a fun, whimsical store but also where it’s really something I can really support the arts, other artists as well,” she said.

“I’ve always been ‘artsy,’ but I’ve always wanted to give back as well. … It’s wonderful. I love it!”

Many of the items in Carr’s store are produced by local artists. “There’s quite a bit. Not everything, (but) we have multiple artists.”

For example, Deborah Politz, a local, retired teacher, creates hand-painted gift bags with canceled stamps affixed to them as a tribute to her father. “The story behind that is that as she was growing up, he would take stamps off of envelopes and put them in a box,” Carr said. When he passed away, she inherited the box, and “a lot of her paintings have stamps on them.”

Carr’s shop is filled with an assortment of unique items. “It’s eclectic,” she said. “It’s a little bit of something extra, so it’s a lagniappe, just fun things.” She pointed to some handmade Christmas ornaments. “This is a lady who does crochet, and it’s chenille, and it’s just beautiful.”

Celia Carr

Carr pointed out other artistic wares — earrings, coasters, original paintings, unique items that are certain to delight a loved one, many of them handmade.

One item that especially catches the eye upon entering the cozy shop is an assortment of whimsical, colorful clocks with related pendulums — a dog with a swinging bone, a cat with a fish skeleton swaying in its stomach, birds with a flower underneath, a golf cart with a bag of golf clubs, even a lobster (or maybe it’s a crawfish since this is, after all, Louisiana) with a swaying lemon wedge. (Sorry, folks, but she sold out of the alligator.)

“I found those when my husband and I took a vacation in Colorado,” Carr said. “They’re by an artist named Michelle Allen … just fun. … They just put a smile on people’s faces. I have several more designs coming in.”

Carr said, “My goal was to really give people an experience when they walk in, and something they don’t see all the time. That’s really what I was hoping for.”

Resin holiday decor with pepper.

What does Carr do that separates her shop from similar stores? “I think some of the items we have are very unique,” she said. “For example, we have corkscrews and bottle openers made out of vintage putters.”

Another thing Carr does is to conduct “Paint and Sip” classes on Friday and Saturday nights in which people can receive painting lessons — no experience needed —while sipping on champagne or other spirits. Classes are conducted at the shop, but Carr will also travel to any group that her little studio cannot accommodate. “All they have to do is supply the table with chairs. I’ll bring everything else” minus the sipping substance, which can be “whatever they choose the bring,” she said with a laugh.

“One thing I am trying to work on doing is getting into businesses for ‘Paint and Sip’ events for, like, team-building” with employees. “(If) you get a group of people together and they are painting, they start melding, and they start communicating, and so a lot of barriers come down,” Carr said.

“Art is something that is so intrinsic, and people are so intimidated by it. … To be able to give that opportunity, I think it’s invaluable.”