Katie Schlichting
Frazzleberries Country Store
Frazzleberries is a third-generation, family-owned store. Is there a secret to your success?
As a third-generation business, I think we’re very fortunate to have such a good family dynamic. We get along very well and we respect each other professionally and personally. I appreciate the talents of my husband, who I work with, my mother-in-law, who I work with and my daughters, who I work with. Everybody brings something different to the table and I think that’s why it’s successful because we all have our unique talents and areas of interest and as a group, we are more whole. If we were individuals, there would be holes. I think it really comes down to a basic foundation of respect. Even when we disagree, at the end of the day, we’re all hardworking people. We’re all coming at it with the best of intentions, which is our base level foundation.
What makes a country store unique? How can you tell a country store apart from other gift stores?
A country store is a little bit more well-rounded in its offerings. A women’s boutique store will obviously focus on clothing and accessories. A home decor store might stay in that lane of decorative accessories and home furnishings. In my opinion, a country store encompasses everything. We carry everything from furniture, home accessories, women’s accessories, children’s, gourmet and personal care. It’s really kind of departmentalized. Even though we’re small, we’re not. We’re not a department store, but I think that’s the difference.
You have a store in Warwick, NY and one in Newport, RI. How do you differentiate the two?
They’re quite different. We are coastal and country literally. We tend to focus and pick our product mix based on our demographic. When we opened the store in Newport, we opened it as a country store. We discovered very quickly that that was not the market or the demographic and we pivoted within a year. We realized this demographic, whether they be people visiting Newport or the locals, they are decorating with a nautical flare. We made that the focus of that store and instantly saw success. In Warwick, people are either living in the country or coming to the country as visitors. They want to take something home that reminds them of that. So yes, they’re very different. But you walk into both, and you get the same Frazzleberries feel.
What is special about Warwick, New York?
Warwick is a unique town because we’re only 50 miles from New York City. A lot of people move up here and live here because they want a little bit more space, a little bit more land, but they still need to be able to commute to the city. Warwick is really known for its apple picking. We’re what you would consider agritourism; the wineries, the microbreweries, the apple picking. We have one of the largest farmers’ markets in New York. We have an amazing downtown so people come here to shop, to eat, to experience nature. We’re also part of The Appalachian Trail, we get a ton of hikers and nature enthusiasts.
What are some popular items around spring that you recommend?
Our biggest category during spring is our florals. We have always been known for having really nice, high-quality silk faux florals. My mother-in-law, MaryBeth, curates those, and she has a very discerning eye. People come back to us year after year, season after season, to switch out their florals.
Where do you find inspiration and new products to bring into your stores?
We are very committed to going to most of the trade shows, in January and February particularly. My husband and I go to Atlanta, Vegas, Orlando, New York and Maine. There are many resources online, but we are very tactile people; we like to touch things and feel things and see things in person.
Anytime we go to a new destination I always like to support the local retailers and check them out. I’m very conscious of introducing myself and explaining that I have a store. Any good retailer should be willing to share their best practices.
Every Christmas season you do an elaborate holiday window display. Tell us how that started and what inspires all your hard work.
My husband is super creative and his favorite movie is A Christmas Story. He always had a vision of doing A Christmas Story-themed window. Our daughters were at such a fun age and they started working on it together. They’re very particular about procuring authentic items and getting the details and authenticity just right. That’s what propelled this movie-themed window because we’re not a cinema store obviously, but it just kind of struck. We try to find a movie that obviously resonates with people and then my husband and my daughters spend months finding all the props. It’s a fun way to get people to the store.
What do you do to keep your regulars returning?
We live in a small town, so we have very loyal local customers. We have a lot of reward programs that keep our customers coming back. We have something called Berry Bucks and that’s a program that you enroll in and it keeps track of your spending and for every $200 you spend, you earn a $10 reward. Members get exclusive deals. We send them a $5 birthday card.
What are some unexpected items you sell?
I would say people come to us and they don’t realize the breadth of furniture that we offer. Custom furniture is a very large part of our business. My husband Jerry is our furniture maker. People just think of us as a gift store and then they come in and see farm tables and hutches and mud room pieces and people say “Oh my gosh. I didn’t know you did this.” We’ve been doing it for 25 years. It definitely makes us unique. There aren’t a lot of places you can get custom, American-made furniture.
What is your favorite thing about Frazzleberries?
There are many physical, tangible things I love that we sell, but I really love the life that it’s provided us. It provides us the ability to live in both Newport and Warwick. Very few jobs would allow us to live in both places. I love my customers and I love my employees and I love the things we sell. I’m very fortunate to be able to do this.
Where did the name Frazzleberries come from?
It was named after my mother-in-law, MaryBeth. A lot of people would call her Mary Berry. She’s very animated, she has a big personality. At a tradeshow in Pennsylvania, she was doing her thing, and she said “Oh, just call me Mary Berry.” And someone said, “You’re like a frazzle berry.” She was like “Ta-da! That’s my name.” So, it’s like a nickname for her. She’s very much a part of Frazzleberries still. People know Frazzleberries because of her, it’s a brand.
April, 2025
