She’s giving back to the community
by making donations to several
nonprofits, selling products in the
store that raise money for charities,
and continuing to run an Instagram
account called @shopsmallastoria
that supports all small retail shops
in Astoria.
NOVEMBER 2 0 2 0 I BOROMAG.COM 15
Photos courtesy of The Brass Owl
Photos by Christian Vega
The Brass Owl
36-19 DITMARS BLVD., ASTORIA
THEBRASSOWL.COM
When the pandemic started, many
of the clothes, gifts and shoes this
feminine boutique sells weren’t listed
on its website.
Luckily, owner Nicole Pannettieri
had already promoted an employee
to e-commerce manager in February.
They worked quickly to get 95 percent
of the store merchandise online
with better photos and descriptions.
She said they plan to make the site
more user-friendly with a chat box for
better customer service.
They also moved quickly to offer
a new product — personalized care
packages. Customers write a description
of the recipient, and the
staff curates a custom package and
ships it out. These were a huge hit,
she said, and she plans on offering
more special packages around the
holiday season.
The store is open for shopping, but
with even stricter policies than required.
Six people are allowed inside
at a time, and after a product is tried
on, it goes into quarantine overnight.
The Brass Owl has always hosted
pop-ups featuring local artists, and
those have moved online for now
with huge success, Pannettieri said.
“It gives the artists an outlet to sell
their work and keep their businesses
going,” she said.
People have been buying puzzles,
even more Queens and Astoria merchandise
than usual, and a lot of feelgood
gifts like mugs and candles.
She noted that baby cards are also
up 76 percent since last year.
Customers also supported the
store earlier this year by posting on
social media, buying gift cards and
writing reviews.
“Not only did this help us to fi -
nancially stay afl oat, it also gave us
a boost in morale to keep fi ghting,”
she said.
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