Opening on Thursday, November 10th, at 655 Central Avenue, The Canary Home & Gift is the creation of Allie Padin, who studied art in college and has brought an artist’s sensibility to The Canary’s creatively curated collection of merchandise, which runs the gamut from furniture, rugs, and light fixtures, to gifts for all ages such as puzzles, picture frames, tablewares, coffee table books, toys, specialty food items, and much more.

“Gift giving is an art,” Padin says. “Receiving gifts has always been a bit complicated for me, but I absolutely love looking for and giving personal and unique gifts to others. It’s a joke in our family that whenever you get a gift, before you’re allowed to peel back the wrapping paper, you have to hear all the zany little anecdotes about the procuring of the gift from the giver… what happened when they were trying to park, who they ran into inside the store, how they accidentally swapped their shopping bags, etc. These are all the wonderful little things that happen with shopping at small businesses in your town, which is something we should all take pride in!”

In addition to her thoughtful approach to gift-giving, Padin brings a designer’s eye to the retail experience. Her career in corporate retail began at Tommy Hilfiger and then as part of the visual merchandising team at Kate Spade at a time while the original partners were still onboard, an experience she describes as “going to work every day in a mid-century time capsule. It was an incubator for creative process and thought … and finding novelty in design.”

Born and raised in New Rochelle, New York, a few train stops from New York City, Padin, as a young girl, would often accompany her mother, Christy Padin, to Wendy Gee, a gift and home furnishings shop in a town called Larchmont, where she worked. From that store’s first days, Christy sourced gifts and furnishings and helped grow the store, which went on to open two additional locations in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Chappaqua, New York.

“My mother and I followed the same professional trajectory,” Padin says. “We both studied art in school, pursued a career in corporate retail, transitioned into photo styling, then residential interior design, all before returning to retail in a brick-and-mortar capacity.

“I inherited my creative sense from her,” continued Padin. “Everything she touched came to life, festive and colorful with an understated elegance. Opening a business together was always our dream. Having lost mom to brain cancer 11 years ago, this is a bittersweet moment for me, but every so often I sense a subtle nudge from her when I’m stuck choosing between the napkins in teal or the coral.”

Padin was doing interior design for customers in several high-income counties in the New York area when the COVID-19 crisis hit. The pandemic turned out to be good for her business, though, as the shift to remote work led to a flurry of customers wanting to upgrade their homes.

“Retail and design — that's what I know,” she says. “It made the most sense to bring those together.” Ready to escape the harsh winters of the Northeast, she relocated to St. Pete to do so.

Now ensconced in the Sunshine City, she’s become part of St. Pete Girl Boss, an organization for female entrepreneurs whose membership has grown to 2,000 members.

“I came across a post for the group on Instagram and attended my first meeting that week,” Padin says. “I found myself in a room full of empowering women going through the same experiences as a small business owner. At that meeting, I met a commercial realtor who helped me secure a commercial property, and in the two months since, I’ve found a general contractor, an events manager, a branding photographer, a lawyer, a tile artist, a hair stylist, and an accountant, not to mention countless friends and advocates. The Canary would not be happening here and now without the support of these amazing women. I am so grateful to all of them!”

True to Padin’s vision, The Canary will have something for everyone at a “full spectrum of prices. Everyone can come in and walk out the door with something for themselves or someone else,” she says. The store will also feature an assortment of merchandise that’s designed to meet the needs of both full-time and seasonal residents, as well as visitors.

“I wish I’d arrived here years ago,” she says. “I have so much respect for the heritage of St. Pete — its wonderful quirkiness, its inclusivity, its vibrant and festive spirit. I acknowledge and appreciate the artists who occupied this street before me and hope to honor that community. Mostly, though, I am excited to grow my business in this magical city, getting to know the people and families here, and I look forward to helping them in their celebrations of special occasions and milestones over the next many years. I want my neighbors and friends to know that The Canary is going to be part of their lives.”