2 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville, NJ 07924
908-221-0025
By: Katrina Musto
If you’re in the mood for a trendy personal gift, head to Downtown Bernardsville and pay a visit to The Rebecca Collection. Easily accessible (across from the movie theater, with ample parking nearby), the store has been in town “forever.” Just ask owner, Sharon Markowitz about her loyal following of customers and she will tell you all about who comes in with their children, who is getting married, and who needs to order a custom-made gift basket for a friend or relative. “Customers come in with their babies to show us how much they’re growing up,” she said, adding, “we have always treated our customers like family.”
The store is named after her mom, Rebecca, who “everyone loved” and in keeping with the family tradition, Sharon’s daughter, Bari, works with her and manages the day-to-day operations. “Bari used to work in advertising and never thought she would end up here but did and loves it. She’s a mini-me!” Bari does all of the social media and marketing and will one day take over the store. “It is our happy place. People come here and they just want to feel good and by coming here, even just for a few minutes, it makes them happy,” Sharon noted.
A good portion of Sharon’s day consists of helping customers and creating gift baskets. Sharon noted that all her inventory is “picked out with love. You might have a great product but need the passion behind it.” she remarked. The inventory is always changing, which gives the store an exciting and fresh feel. She is constantly re-inventing herself with what type of inventory to have in the store. During Covid, she noticed a ton of young people with babies moving into town and also people re-decorating their homes since they spent so much time there. “People’s perspectives changed. Now parents who thought they would never have another baby did, or people who never thought they would get married, did.” Sharon hears all of her customer’s stories and “kids who bought t-shirts from me as a kid are now graduating college and coming back to buy adult items!” she laughed. “People want to feel better after going through so much these past few years. There have been some good stories, some bad stories, and people just feeling anxious,” she noted. “They want to come in and just feel good and take care of themselves.”
Open seven days a week with gifts for everyone: home accessories, pampering items, chocolates, decorative pillows and signs (Bedminster, Morristown, Bernardsville, etc. signs), Children’s, men’s, women’s clothing, accessories, and more, Sharon locally delivers (and ships nationwide) custom-made gift baskets for every occasion and finds many realtors enjoy popping into the store to pick up a decorative basket once their clients close on a home. With party favors, holiday orders, and their concierge service, people love to call The Rebecca Collection for their opinions on gifts, and life in general.