WEST JORDAN — Wendi Bench believes it's not just what's inside a gift box that's important. That's why she opened the Posh Frippery at Gardner Village a few months back.
The shop, in the 352-square-foot St. Joer/Orr Cabin, specializes in gift wrapping products and services, plus cards and "fancy little extras" — the latter being the source of the store's name.
"It's just something I've always liked, wrapping presents," Bench said. "Our slogan is 'Love, wrap, give.' If you love something or someone, you're usually giving something to them, so why not wrap it and have it look nice?
"Just the way a package looks heightens anticipation when you receive a present. If you can find the right bag for the mood they're trying to create for their gift, it's kind of exciting, especially if you can find it in their price range."
A self-proclaimed "paper fanatic" who never found a notebook she didn't love and buy, Bench had always enjoyed shopping at Gardner Village, even having her wedding reception there. "One day when I was out there, I saw they were hiring for a receptionist. But I was too late for that position. While I was there, I thought I would see if they had space for lease," she said.
That was in November, and a few months later, she and husband Chris moved forward with the venture, opening the doors to Posh Frippery on June 1.
"One thing it seemed they were missing whenever I went shopping there was a place to finish my presents," she said. "Everybody buys gifts out there."
A thesaurus helped the couple find the proper name for the shop after their original list was full of words that were "too ordinary, too regular," she said.
Visitors will find the shop stocked with gift wrap, gift cards, greeting cards, bags, bows, jewelry, soaps, lotions, stationery and "funky journals." "We usually pack it so deep that it usually falls down on top of you so we can get you to notice," Bench joked.
"Even if you don't catch on to what we do in the store, you usually can find something you need, or even things you don't need. Gardner Village is a great place to open a business. I feel the customers there like to shop and like things that are different. That's what our store is. You don't see this kind of wrapping paper anywhere else. It's a unique niche."
Her personal favorite item is a book titled "She." A celebration of women and their ability to do anything, the book was an inspiration for her to open the store, "to throw away the excuses and have faith in myself," she said.
Bench enjoys helping people find just the right kind of gift or wrapping for the occasion "and not just a plain brown bag with tissue." Many of the repeat customers are men who always find "something thoughtful" there.
"We also provide the right amount of personal care to help them find what they really want to give their wife or friend or whoever," Bench said. "That's what keeps us in business, the personal touch. The minute we don't care which card they buy is the minute we go under. We're there to care and help our customers. That's what we're there for — and to make somebody else happy."
Although Posh Frippery has been around only a few months, Bench envisions similar stores in other states, "although I don't want to see it in a million paces because I don't want it to lose the personal touch."
"I'd like to have it somewhere close. Maybe Idaho or Denver. But I'm not against franchising. I think good things come in small packages, but they also come in big packages, too."
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com