Noelle Niche Inc — Local services in Orange

I live in CA and was recently visiting the VA/DC area for two weeks, with my 13-year old. On our 2+ hour drive from Monticello, back to DC, I drove past Noelle Niche. When I passed the building and saw the giant “OPEN” flag flying on the front porch, I made the very first u-turn I could make and headed back!! Pulling into the parking lot I saw the posted hours and noticed the shop would be closing in 20 minutes (5pm). We head inside, the shop owner greets us, and immediately started turning lights on some of the trees as she tells me she was actually just about to close up shop early and go to the post office when we arrived, because we were “the only customers” she’s had all day! I told her we were visiting from CA, but I love Christmas, so when I saw that her shop was open I had to make a u-turn and stop in. As she was turning on tree lights I whisper to my son, “we have to buy something” (not only because she is now going to miss the post office, but after all, we’re the ONLY customers she’s had all day). In one of the rooms there some unique German “smoking” figurines. I started moving one of the figures (to grab the one behind it), when the owner says, “if you would move out of the way, I’ll help you”. I was a little surprised, but I moved away from the shelf and she handed me the figure. The price was $110. I wasn’t planning on buying myself a $110 Christmas decoration on a whim, but it would’ve made an awesome gift for my mother. I told my son, “we should buy one of these for Nana, as her Christmas present.” Rather than make a hasty $110 purchase, I asked the owner if there was more stuff upstairs. She paused and reluctantly said yes. Upstairs there was a train set, my son asked if she could turn it on, she snapped at him “no!”. Again I overlook the attitude and continue to look around when I notice some adorable gourds. I picked up the snowman ($65) and my son says, “they light up”. I asked the owner if she could turn on the one I had in my hand. She let’s out a loud sigh and leans over to flick on the switch. I asked the woman if it had a box. She now begins to rant, “no, it doesn’t have a box!”, they come packaged in a giant box wrapped in a newspaper! She continues, almost belittling, telling me they’re gourds, they come on all sizes. How they possibly have their own boxes? It would cost the company thousands of dollars to buy different sized boxes to fit all the various shapes and sizes. I told her a simple “no” would’ve been fine and reminded her that we live 3,000 miles away and that asking if an item had a box wasn’t an unreasonable question. I then ask, “are you irritated that we’re here?”. She now proceeds to tell me that this is not the first time in the last week that someone has decided to show up “at the last minute”. Wait a minute, I didn’t “decide” to show up at the last minute. I reminded her we don’t live there and that it’s only because I was driving by and saw her giant “OPEN” flag flying that we were even there. I looked at my watch and pointed out that we were shopping within HER POSTED hours of business! And she replies that she told me she was trying to close early and go to the post office and when someone shows up so late it really messes up her evening, and I should’ve noticed she already had everything turned off. WHAT!??? “Ma’am, I’m by your own admission, the ONLY customer you’ve had all day! I’m shopping within YOUR posted hours of business!! I would think you would be happy that you had an opportunity to make a sale “at the last minute”. Especially when the two items I’m looking at are $65 or $110. If you didn’t want someone to come to your shop, you shouldn’t be flying a giant OPEN flag on your front porch”. She said, “that’s my fault, I should’ve taken the flag down”. With that, I set the gourd down, walked downstairs and left. Again, I’m so happy I didn’t give her a dime of my money. Her attitude cost her the only sale she would’ve made all day. but it saved me $65-$110. Any review that is describing the owner of this shop as “welcoming” has...

Unbelievably Rude and Unprofessional

I recently had an unfortunate experience with the owner of Noelle Niche that I feel compelled to share. My car broke down near the store, and while waiting for a tow truck, we were able to get it into the parking lot to ensure we were safely off the road. Rather than showing any understanding, the owner came outside and immediately berated us, stating that only paying customers could park there. When we offered to browse the store while we waited, she refused and told us she "didn’t want our type" inside. Despite explaining that the tow truck would arrive within 30 minutes, she continued to demand that we leave, insisting that if we could get the car into her lot, we should be able to drive it elsewhere. To make matters worse, when my husband asked her to step aside so we could attempt to move the car, she refused and blocked our vehicle. As if that weren’t enough, she capped off the encounter with an unprovoked, inappropriate comment about politics, which had absolutely no relevance to the situation. I have never encountered such blatant hostility and lack of basic human decency from a business owner. If this is how she treats people in need, I can only imagine how she treats her customers. I strongly advise taking your...

My fiancé and I were trying to get into the Christmas spirit, and Noelle Niche was one of our must go to’s after driving by so many time. We knew it would be amazing, but we wouldn’t have guessed it’d be as incredible as it is!

First off, it’s just incredible to look around. Two floors of decorations spanning from German, to Russian, to polish, to Americana style decorations. So many handcrafted, hand painted, and detailed items that are set up BEAUTIFULLY! It makes you want to live there!

Second, Sharon and Theresa are so helpful and patient and kind. Sharon helped us obtain ornaments, package them, and was so knowledgeable about everything we were buying. There is a story behind every handmade item that made us feel even more connected to what we were purchasing. Plus, everything is very well priced for the quality and what it is.

There’s something for everyone here, even beyond Christmas stuff. Easter, Halloween, patriotic decor, and more.

10/10...