MASSENA - The Twisted Turtle, which opened its doors in Potsdam 14 months ago, now has a second location in the St. Lawrence Centre in Massena, giving mall shoppers another place to look while trying to find the perfect holiday gift for themselves or someone they love.

“With Hallmark going out of business, besides The Mustard Tin and Memory Lane, there aren’t really a lot of other gift stores at the mall,” according to store owner Jessika T. Furnace, who added the lack of gift stores heading into the holiday season led her to open the second location.

“The product that we are selling is completely different from anything in this area,” she said.

The store sells dresses and other apparel, as well as signs, picture frames, home decor, scented wax bowls and “other unique gift items.”

Scented wax bowls, which according to a sign next to the store’s display are “a safe alternative to candles,” are exactly what they say they are, a bowl made out of scented wax that is designed to fill a room with fragrance without an open flame.

Ms. Furnace said the store’s first official day of business at the mall was Black Friday.

“It was great. It was very busy,” she said.

The St. Lawrence Centre location gave her the opportunity to introduce The Twisted Turtle to people from Franklin County, Canada and the northern portion of St. Lawrence County.

“We do a lot of advertising on Facebook, so there were a lot of people from the Massena, Malone and Brasher area who have seen us there but haven’t been to the Potsdam store,” she said. “Canadians don’t usually come to Potsdam (to shop).”

While the Massena location was originally opened as a seasonal shop, there is a chance St. Lawrence Centre could end up a permanent home for the Twisted Turtle.

“It’s seasonal for right now,” she said. “We’ll have a decision to make about whether or not to make the Massena location permanent. We’ll see how the next month goes and what our customers want.”

The Twisted Turtle is open during regular mall hours now through Dec. 31.

The Twisted Turtle can be found on Facebook by searching for “Twisted Turtle Potsdam.”

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