The Winners
Contributed photo by Halie’s Boutique
Best gift store
Halie’s Boutique
Swagger
Ivy Cottage Collections
Best new clothing
Pink Magnolia Boutique
Swagger
Peachy Keen
Best resale shopping
Dorcas Shop
Adore Designer Resale Boutique
Once Upon a Child
Best home furnishings and décor
Ivy Cottage Collections
The Perfect Piece
Cooper’s Furniture
Best new business (non-restaurant)
Pink Magnolia Boutique
Proactive Accounting & Tax Services
Azura Skin Care Center
Best garden center
Garden Supply Company
Fairview Garden Center
The Garden Hut
Best florist shop
Preston Flowers
Cary Florist
The Flower Cupboard
Best shopping center
Park West Village
The Streets at Southpoint
Parkside Town Commons
Best specialty foods store
The Fresh Market
The Butchers Market
Capri Flavors
Best wine or beer
Triangle Wine
Wine Merchant
TIE: Winestore and Great Grapes
Best Home Furnishings and Décor
Ivy Cottage Collections
Lisa Allen, owner of Ivy Cottage Collections
For 20-plus years, home decor aficionados from across the region have sought the advice of designer Lisa Allen at Ivy Cottage Collections … and she’s delivered.
“When you buy a piece here, you will love it for a long time,” Allen said. “We try to stay eclectic in our offerings. I like that style best, because it looks as though it’s been collected over time.”
Here’s a bit of advice from Allen for the New Year:
What inspires your work?
“My customers inspire me. They really appreciate the effort we make to have each shopping experience be exciting and fresh. I love how excited people get when they shop in the store.”
What are 2017’s must-haves?
“Fresh, colorful porcelain lamps, pillows, and artwork to accent your space.”
What’s new in home décor?
“More color, and a return to more detail in design. For a few years at market there was very little color, ash gray woods and at most a slate blue-gray for accent color. Clean lines in all case goods, with a modern aesthetic, was driving the design world for quite a while. We’re really seeing more color and detail, shabby chic and painted wood in the marketplace.”
Best Resale Shopping
Dorcas Shop
The “shop for a cause” concept is lived out every day at Dorcas Shop, where proceeds help fund the community outreach work of Dorcas Ministries, voted Best Nonprofit.
You also never know what treasures you’ll find here, among the new and gently-used donated goods: A name-brand jacket. A great painting. The perfect armchair.
The thrill of the hunt, and the feel-good mission behind it, keep CM readers coming back for more.
Best Garden Center
Garden Supply Company
Dig in. That’s the unofficial motto at Garden Supply Company, where for more than 20 years locals have found their gardening and landscaping needs.
Trees, shrubs, herbs and vegetables, and flowers galore are what you’ll find outside, 90 percent of them sourced from locally-owned farms and nurseries. Inside is a browser’s wonderland of gifts and décor.
Fun fact: Garden Supply Co. has a nursery-pot recycling program. Bring back any rigid plastic pots 1 gallon or larger in size, and they’ll return them to growers for re-use.
Best New Business & Best New Clothing
Pink Magnolia Boutique
Samantha James, owner of Pink Magnolia Boutique, may not play guitar, but she knows how to strike the right note with shoppers of all ages. Affordability “was a key point of our business model,” she says. The only items priced more than $50 are shoes and boots.
Last year, a newly-opened Pink Magnolia Boutique edged its way into the Maggy Awards with two honorable mentions. This year the shop grabbed two top-honors spots, to the delight of owner Samantha James.
“I attribute our success to three things: Our employees, merchandise and customers,” she said. “One, our stylists’ goal is to make sure every customer leaves feeling fantastic about her new outfit. Two, you’ll find something for everyone in our store, from teenagers to grandmothers. We get limited quantities of all our items and don’t reorder, which allows us to get new merchandise every week. And three, our customers are the most amazing women. We build real relationships.”
James opened a second Pink Magnolia location, in Morrisville’s Park West Village, exactly one year after the first store opened in Cary. In 2017 she’s working on an e-commerce store concept and franchising opportunities, and adding brands that are new to our area.
“And you might see a Pink Magnolia logo in some of our new lines!” she added.
Fun fact: One name jokingly considered for the boutiques was Pink Magnolia Tree, to reflect the tree common to both Cary and James’ Texas upbringing.
Best Shopping Center
Park West Village
Our readers love Park West Village, all 100 acres of it, where new stores and restaurants are opening all the time.
A literal A to Z lineup, as in Ann Taylor Loft to Massage Envy to Zoe’s Kitchen, the center also has a movie theater, and routinely hosts outdoor concerts and other events.
Included among them is the LIVE in The District Music Series, benefiting local charities, and Restaurant Week in the Village.
New or coming soon here are a second location for Pink Magnolia Boutique, Cute Buttons in a move from downtown Cary, and restaurants B. Good and Cantina 18.
- A New & Improved You
- Secrets of the Cast Iron Plant
- Easy as Pie
- Oven-Roasted Cauliflower from Tazza Kitchen
- Not a Moment to Lose: The V Foundation
- 2017 Maggy Awards: Lifestyle
- Presenting the 2017 Maggy Awards!
- 2017 Maggy Awards: Restaurants
- 2017 Maggy Awards: Services
- 2017 Maggy Awards: Shopping
- Still Raising a Ruckus
- Back to Work
- A Taste of Sweet Potato Pie
