New homewares shop opens in downtown Norfolk

 By Janet Gokay Mead

So you want to open a shop that sells things for the home—thoughtful, lovely things. You live in New Marlborough, in the Berkshires, where you run a very successful restaurant, Cantina 229, with your husband. You have three kids: two, nine, and 14-years old. Where do you go?

For Emily Irwin, the answer was Norfolk.

“I’d been looking for a while,” Irwin said. “I’d looked in Great Barrington . . . I was just trying to get a feeling for the towns around here. I drove to Norfolk, got a tea and sat on the stone wall [in front of the White House], all alone—and I just had a really good feeling about the place. It felt like an extension of my community. It just felt like a good fit.”

The store, which opened Thursday, April 26, is called Home Love. “It’s about love for your home, for the space you create to start your day, to end your day,” Irwin said. The store will offer things “to make your space comfortable”—a mix of old and new. “People really love coming in and finding some $5 item that’s really cool,” she added. “I’m always going to the shows, and I love rummaging estate sales and yard sales.” Her offerings will be, she promised, unique.

Irwin is no newcomer to the business: she has had three stores in the Boston area, including two women’s/lifestyle boutiques and a store also called Home Love. She’s particularly excited about opening a new venture in Norfolk.

“Honestly, every experience I’ve had here. From the woman at the post office, to the ones in Town Hall, to the lady who owns the pub on the corner—they’ve all been so welcoming,” she commented. “I’m really inspired by small business owners, people who really put their creativity into it.”

Home Love, which is located in the yellow house next to Infinity, will be open every day in May, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with extended hours in June. Weekend evening hours will start in July. “I’m really flexible to requests,” Irwin said, and you can contact her at homelovenorfolk@gmail.com.

Photo by Bruce Frisch: Emily Irwin was busy preparing for opening day of her new shop next to Infinity Hall in downtown Norfolk.