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Lehighton boutique features home goods, gifts

A new gift shop featuring locally made goods, gifts and home décor has opened in Lehighton. Butler in the Home Gift Boutique, located at 499 S. Ninth St, opened in September.

The store is owned by Sean and Robin Balint of Lehighton.

Butler in the Home began in 2014 as an online Amazon store featuring specialized paper clips that the Balints distributed from their home business.

Their paper clip sales have since grown to include more than 100 unique designs, from mermaids and angels to dogs, coffee cups and every letter in the alphabet. The paper clips are very popular online and recently outgrew their home-based business.

To solve their space problems, they acquired the building at Ninth and Bridge streets. Storage and shipping supplies took up a significant portion of the space, and Sean moved his home office onto Ninth Street as well.

But that left a good-sized room at the rear of the building — which the family soon decided to turn into a gift shop featuring their paper clips and gift items, many of them from local artists and businesses.

As for the name?

“It’s all about having products that make your home more enjoyable, almost like a butler would,” said Sean. “When people come in here, they love it. We have a lot of fun things at affordable prices.”

A large portion of their wares are made locally, including handmade jewelry, hand painted wineglasses, organic Bee Silky soap, bath bombs, and serving stones.

They carry Primitives by Kathy, which are made in Lancaster, and affordable and fun pillowcases that can be used to cover a favorite pillow or be stuffed for a small charge.

“We’re also starting to get into the Christmas season with ornaments,” said Robin. “Everything here is unique. It’s nothing that you’d find in a large store.

“We try to support the locals and small business,” she added. “This is our home. We live in Lehighton and want to support Lehighton.”

To support and celebrate the town, Butler in the Home recently started selling Lehighton Indians pint and shot glasses, along with other locally themed memorabilia.

They also offer a few regional treats, including the Jelly Belly line of gourmet jelly beans from New York. True to their gift shop mindset, Butler in the Home sells both small and large gift boxes of Jelly Belly. They also sell smaller, individual-sized portions of the popular jelly beans.

The owners are planning to triple their display space dedicated to Jelly Belly in the near future and host a sale and Jelly Belly tasting party.

And don’t forget to stop by throughout the week for the store’s daily specials, Sean said. These specials include a BOGO sale on paper clip tins on Wednesday, and a chance to earn a free small magnet, Jelly Belly trial size bag, or stress ball later in the week.

Butler in the Home also offers a rewards program for customers to earn cash off their order and double reward points every Tuesday.

While the Balints pride themselves in offering unique home items, they also don’t want customers to be intimidated or struggle to find a gift idea.

“We try to make it personal,” says Robin. “We’ll spent the time to talk with people and find out what they’re looking for. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about our friendly staff and affordable prices.”

Sean and Robin Balint of Lehighton, the owners of Butler in the Home Gift Boutique, opened their gift shop on Ninth Street in September. The store is an expansion of their online business that launched four years ago, and features gifts and household items that make a home more enjoyable, from pillowcases and locally made glasses, jewelry and soaps to specialized paper clips. STACEY SOLT/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Butler in the Home Gift Boutique features a wide variety of household items for all occasions, from locally made organic soaps and bath bombs to decorative items. The store also carries gift bags, tissue paper and cards for many occasions.
Many of the items sold at Butler in the Home Gift Boutique in Lehighton are made by local artists and businesses, including the handmade jewelry that greets customers when they first enter the store.
Unique paper clip designs were Butler in the Home’s first product, which they sold online for four years before establishing a physical business in Lehighton. The business has more than 100 paper clipdesigns to choose from. In addition to a large number of home and gift items, they also sell Jelly Belly gift boxes and bags.
Mugs, coasters and unicorn motifs round out Butler in the Home’s gift selections.
Many of the products featured at Butler in the Home Gift Boutique are from local artists and businesses, including these hand-painted glasses made in Palmerton.