Always Something New At Comina

Stepping into a is like stepping into a gallery of treasures from around the world. There are Mariposa tableware, one of a kind pieces of furniture and even handmade jewelry.

While some of the items in the store are basic items that are almost always in stock many things come and go.

“The product changes continually,” Comina employee Kim Vincent said. “It’s never the same thing, it’s always very fresh.”

Never quite knowing what one will discover in the store is one of things Vincent and store manager Lesley Bravi said they think locals either don’t know or forget about. It’s also the thing that they say makes their jobs so fun.

“Especially in the spring and fall,” Bravi said. “That’s when we’re getting a lot of items in.”

And they each have current favorites.

“The furniture,” Vincent said. “It’s handcrafted, made of very solid wood. You’ll never find something similar anywhere else.”

Her father furnished his Stonington Borough home almost completely in items from Comina.

Bravi is also a fan of the furniture, many of which is eco-friendly.

“The benches that are one of a kind,” Bravi said. “They work in any style home.”

Customers they said love the Mariposa items and they make popular gifts. They have a bridal registry that allows people to pick just a few items or many.

The first Comina store opened almost 27 years ago in West Hartford, Conn. The location at 27 West Main St., in Mystic is about seven and half years old and is one of the company’s smaller stores.

“Mystic has a very nice mix of smaller stores that offer unique products and the stores complement each other very nicely,” Bravi said. “Mystic is a nice community to work in,” Bravi said. “The merchants all friendly and refer clients to each other.”

They also help each other out in other ways. Bravi said is the place to go to when they need to borrow a tall ladder and Comina must be the place to go to for packaging.

At Comina they try not to throw out anything that is reusable, which means that in seven and half years the Mystic location can't ever remember buying packaging for shipping.

“We get so much in when items come in and it’s all clean so we send it along,” Bravi said.