If you’d like to find a unique gift for your Valentine, you’re bound to find just the thing at the Valentine’s Shopping Extravaganza this Thursday, February 10th from 5 to 8 pm. Though it won’t be held in Lake Highlands proper, it will feature a longtime LH resident and merchant – Natalie Devero. Natalie owns Stationery & More, a personalized stationery and paper goods business. “For about 12 years I did Market in the Meadow, Chi Omega Christmas Market and various other shows in the neighborhood, but then my children got into high school and I found myself wanting to be home with them on the weekends,” Natalie told me. She’s continued make sales to loyal customers and their referrals, but now that her youngest child, Richard, has gone off to college, she’s excited about the Valentine’s market, which will feature other small business owners without traditional storefronts.
I asked Natalie, who’s a sustaining member of the LH Women’s League, about LH. “Lake Highlands is the best small town in a big city – you always run into friends and someone is always watching your kids!” When she’s not selling stationery, she can often be found shopping at The Store in Lake Highlands or dining at Highlands Café or Mi Cocina.
Valentine’s Shopping Extravaganza will be held at Duxiana in Preston Center. They’ll have handmade wallets and accessories from Barrett Alley, monogrammed bags and baby gifts from Thirty-one, beaded jewelry by NM Designs, and floral arrangements by Terrain Horticultural, among many others. For more information and a complete listing of vendors, click here.