‘Made in Alabama, Sold in Phil Campbell:’ Gigi’s celebrates four-year anniversary with emphasis on Alabama made gift items

After recently celebrating its four-year anniversary, Gigi’s Unique Finds is a shining example of a successful small town Alabama business.

Owners Sherry Nix and Judy Wilkinson are longtime friends and they’ve teamed up to sustain a business in downtown Phil Campbell where some doubters didn’t believe it could be done.

The store offers an array of items perfect for special occasions and gifts, along with home decor, clothing, handmade pillows, barn quilts, stuffed animals, figurines, collectibles and so much more.

They’ve made a few changes through trial and error over that four-year period, but one constant has been their desire to promote Alabama-made items.

“We’ve always wanted to do that. The whole purpose of opening this store in Phil Campbell was for our community to have something to be proud of,” Nix said.

“And we really believe in supporting your town, your state and your country. We’ve got a lot of talent out there across Alabama. And we need to support it. There’s nothing better than Southern stuff and our customer response was strong for our Alabama product lines. People liked them but we didn’t really push them enough,” she added.

Nix went to Birmingham to some stores that just carried Alabama products, but just didn’t find a big variety. So she decided to check what was available on some wholesale websites. That turned out to be time well spent.

“We started looking on some wholesale sites and did a search by state. We found more and more items available. And promoting Alabama products is something we’ve always wanted to do,” Nix said.

Their quest to offer more Alabama-made gifts and keepsakes has been, at a minimum, an overwhelming success. You’ll find pillows, Porch Goose clothing, keepsake teddy bears and barn quilts from Redbirds Lane, Oak & Sun candles and car diffusers (just restocked by the way), children’s books about Alabama, local honey from Ole’ Log Cabin, Hobby Pots pottery made in Fairhope, Carry Adventure Keene books out of Birmingham, Amish soap from Brewton, Beehive Bathhouse products out of Hartselle, Fish Tales glass products including wind chimes, ornaments and handmade glass from Borden Springs, candles from Miller Farm Candles in Falkville, Nature’s Love Products out of Opelika, including pure castor oil roll-ons, tallow soap, etc., with castor oil, Prodigal Pottery from Chelsea, Studio 2911 jewelry from New Market and Vivi’s Boutique baby items, just to name a few!

Around 75 percent of Gigi’s customers are local residents, but Nix said they receive a lot of customers traveling through Phil Campbell from Tuscaloosa to Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

“Even after four years, we still have people come in the store and say they didn’t even know we were there. When we add a new product line, it takes a little while for people to know it’s there,” Nix said.

Gigi’s is located on Broad Street in downtown Phil Campbell. Store hours are Wednesday-Friday, 10-5, and Saturday, 10-2.

There’s a handmade wooden sign in Gigi’s that proclaims, “the heart of America is in small towns.”

It’s a perfect message to display at a locally-owned store that prioritizes carrying high-quality and unique gift items, with an emphasis on locally and Alabama-made products, without having to trek to the Shoals.

In Phil Campbell, Gigi’s Unique Finds exemplifies the heart of American entrepreneurial spirit. That sign couldn’t be more on point…