New owners at Clinton businesses

Peggy and Mark Hockett moved to the island from California a short time ago and purchased Serendipity Gifts.

The couple were largely attracted to the South End because of the community.

“We lucked out that the store was available,” Mark Hockett said.

“We liked the store because it was in a small community,” he said. “You really get to know people here.”

The couple is striving to make sure the store carries a little bit of something for everyone.

“We have a lot of customers that are retired so we try to focus on that,” Peggy Hockett said. “But we also have to remember all of our customers.”

“It’s challenging to combine the right products,” she said.

One thing the couple knew they wanted to expand on was something that caught their eyes the first time they entered the store. Chocolate.

“We have a new line of sugar-free candy and we are really trying to expand it,” Hockett said. “There’s a lot of demand for that on the island.”

The owners are offering a gourmet sugar-free chocolate called Mitchell’s, which is produced in Burien, and original Baker’s chocolates.

They are also expanding on the collectable items available.

“We brought in a line of Wee Forest Folk, which is highly collectable,” Hockett said.

“We are the only dealer north of Seattle up to the Canadian border,” she said.

Wee Forest Folk are the product of a small family business in Massachusetts. Forest folk are miniature figurines, most of which are mice. Each piece is originally-sculpted and hand-painted.

“They are really cute,” Hockett said. “They are something that I’ve collected for 15 years, so I definitely had my own alterior motives.”

The couple is enjoying their new line of products, and the challenges of providing products that will suit all kinds of people.

“We are just trying to expand overall and have more products available,” Hockett said.

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