Store offers eclectic mix of trinkets

In 1977, Danny Cameron opened a craft gallery in Chapel Hill, even though by his own admission he knows nothing about art.

Twenty-seven years later, many say the store is arguably the most popular gift boutique in the area.

"It's very eclectic," said Wendy Smith, who now co-owns the shop with her twin sister, Bridget McMillan. "We like to say that it's the one place where you can buy a rubber roach and a diamond ring."

Devra Thomas, who has been the manager of Cameron's for 2 1/2 years, said the store has always been a family-owned business.

The shop, originally called Cameron Craft Gallery, has seen several changes in its location.

It originally was a high-end handmade craft gallery, located in the back of the original owner's house at the corner of Church and Rosemary streets.

It moved from its initial location to University Square, then to one end of University Mall and finally to the other end, where the name was shortened to Cameron's.

The store gradually expanded to carry merchandise that appealed to college students, evolving into its current niche as an eclectic gift boutique.

"The store really became more fun for me as I realized that I had the freedom to sell whatever I wanted," Cameron said.

Cameron said he grew tired of customers gushing over the merchandise in his store while being unable to purchase it. So as it became harder to sell local crafts, he gradually began to introduce manufactured goods.

"The customers didn't mind the mix," Cameron said.

It is this bizarre mix that defines Cameron's today.

The shop still sells high-end pottery and jewelry, especially from local artists. Shoppers can also find stuffed animal head mounts, candles, handbags and an entire room full of cards.

Quan Nguyen of Chapel Hill has been to Cameron's several times.

"The merchandise here is just very cool; a lot of stuff is different every time I come," Nguyen said.

"If anything, I just like to browse around."

That is the kind of thing Cameron said he likes to hear. He attributes the store's almost 30 years of success to putting the customer's experience first.

"What's important is that when people come in, they feel good - the music they hear, what they see, their interactions," Cameron said.

"When you have that, the sales seem to take care of themselves."

Smith said she believes Cameron's has found a niche in Chapel Hill because of its willingness to adapt to a changing clientele, and the store's proximity to the University.

"You can buy a gift for five dollars if that's all you can spend," she said.

Students constitute an important part of the store's clientele. It isn't that students necessarily spend a lot of money in the shop, but that they introduce others to the store, Smith said.

"We view everyone as an important customer, even the little 4 -year-old who comes in here and buys a plastic monkey for 10 cents for their room," she said.

One of the unique features of the store is a "shrine room," a small room upstairs with altars.

"It's been there maybe seven or eight years," Thomas said. "It was originally intended as a place where nothing was for sale. You're in a mall, where everything is for sale, and it's really nice to have a place to go where you aren't surrounded by that."

The store also has a wall of Elvis prayers where shoppers tack up pleas to the King.

Even though Cameron is no longer the store's owner, he said, it's important that the shop remain family-owned.

"I do think that if Wendy and Bridget hadn't wanted the store, I would have closed it," he said.

Cameron enjoys the store even more now that he is no longer its owner and said he is confident that Smith and McMillan are managing the shop well.

"I'd been out of town, and when I walked back in the store, I felt like the proud papa," he said. "To me, it's better than it's ever been. It's just such a thrill for me to see my baby in their hands."

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