About Us
As the owners of Bella, we welcome you to our site!. We have
been specialty retailers for the last 15 years. Bella is our third, and
current, store.
On Retailing . . .
We’ve always tried to offer something a bit different with
each of our stores - sort of an ongoing creative process which keeps us
engaged as shopkeepers and allows the stores, and their offerings, to
be fresh and fun for the shopper.
Our Time Line . . .
Spring 1992
Bar Harbor, Maine… With its national park and beautiful scenery, Mount
Desert Island is visited by 3 to 4 million people per season. Its major
port, Bar Harbor, hosts an additional 50-60 world class cruise ships
each season. Bar Harbor is also the island’s shopping and eating
epicenter. This is a busy town. A different concept… From the start, we
knew that we weren't interested in selling “Maine” theme merchandise,
and decided to open a very funky boutique with a broad mix of clothing,
gifts and jewelry from around the world.
As hoped, the store was a huge success from day 1 until it’s
closing in late 1999. We both grew up in New Hampshire and by late 1999
it had been calling us home for awhile. We decided to close our store
on Mt. Desert Island and move back… gearing up for the next chapter.
Early 2000
Dick went to work for a ski company - something he’d
wanted to do for a long time, and a few months later, Kim opened Little
Hedgehog in the village of Contoocook. It didn’t take long before the
store was choc-a-bloc full of fun, eclectic products. The merchandise
mix - like the store itself - was quirky, unique and tasteful - a nice
addition to a small, rural N.H. town. The community generously embraced
the store and business was great.
Spring of 2004
We opened Bella - its style a distinct departure from the earlier
stores. It is a place where trend meets tradition - comfortable,
friendly classics mixing with edgy, bold styles and colors. We’re
having lots of fun with this. Please come by for a visit or click thru
or web site. Feel free to send us an e-mail — questions, suggestions,
criticisms - all are welcome.
Best regards,
Kim and Dick
