Lemons and Limes is a sweet addition to Germantown Ave.

Cynthia Demaio and daughter Laura Demaio have opened Lemons and Limes at 8127A Germantown Ave. (Photo by Pat Stokes)

by PAT STOKES

From this writer’s point of view, one of the most interesting new happenings on the Hill is the escalating influx of young (30-something) shop owners, whose arrival brings promise of fresh vigor to the business community.

Example: Cynthia Demaio and daughter Laura Demaio, contrary to the time-worn suggestion of merely making lemonade “when life hands you a lemon,” saw only unlimited possibilities in lemons in general, and simply by adding a few limes to the mix came up with Lemons and Limes, now open at 8127A Germantown Ave. A gift shop, yes, but with a stimulating cutting-edge character, something Laura calls “whimsical,” a “hodge-podge of delightful treats.”

Cynthia, who has been in retail, she says, for 27 years (she must have started at two), is well acquainted with the decorating-accessory and gift market, having worked in some well-known chains and one or two Chestnut Hill shops as well.

In Ocean City, where she worked for a real estate developer as an interior designer, she would decorate newly-built homes just going on the market, which were then sold. Self-taught, her innate taste and keen eye for design is evident in the shop’s displays.

Daughter Laura is finishing her final year at Arcadia University, earning her masters in elementary education. She and Mom work well together, with Laura keeping an eye on the “younger aspects” of the inventory, while Cynthia oversees home accessories and related items.

Cynthia lives just outside the Hill but is planning to move back, even thinking of purchasing a home not far from the shop. “I really love Chestnut Hill,” she says. “I grew up here, went to school here and know a great many people here. I want to move back because it’s a community.”

About the merchandise: personally, being a sort of artist myself, I was so intrigued and in a way, overwhelmed by the wealth of color (yellow, lime, pink, orange) that I found it a bit hard to focus. I secretly wanted everything there, and noted that prices are definitely within an affordable range.

So … you want a list?

Let’s put everything into groups: pastel plaids, pieced together and quilted into sweet crib-cover-and-sham sets; a tall canister printed with a toile-type rose pattern, filled with spiky green plant cuttings; small cheerful-looking floor mats; square throw pillows trimmed with a center square of petit-point; four-to-a-bag candles in pink or pale orange.

Surely an exclusive with this shop: a 25”x3” strip of wood painted white, with the letters CHESTNUT HILL in elegant capitals end to end. Across them in script is written: “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Attention, Town Hall: you have to have one of these!

Special books: one is called Social Graces, recently reviewed by Town and Country. It’s a small glossy covered handbook for former hippie types emerging into social beings. Another, published by Esquire, is named Handshakes, White Lies and Which Fork Goes Where.

Special stuff for men (think Father’s Day): boxer shorts in fun prints; ties with fun prints and smaller ones for boys, who may now wear fun ties as part of the uniform at a local boys’ school; elegant monogrammed square sterling cuff-links and letter opener. Also, a bottled martini mix, and in a matching box a concoction to put “on the rim.”

Almost forgot the jewelry: glass necklaces in those previously mentioned colors and good-looking silver wristbands, among other things. For something truly unexpected, petit-point golf club covers for lady golfers. In the sporting category too, but maybe not really for the golf course, are some wonderfully wacky, highly colored sneakers with satin laces.

Hanging on the back wall of the shop is a final outstanding bit of whimsy — a painting by a dear friend of Cynthia’s, Anne Bourassa. Her paintings are in the primitive style and are reproduced in a color brochure. Definitely for the young and the young-at-heart, they are exhibited and recognized nationally, and have a place in professional publications and in many private collections.

There’s much more, but you musts see for yourself. As you stroll the Avenue in the coming spring days, include a stop at Lemons and Limes to give a real tang to your day. Hours: Sun. 12-4, Tues. 12-5:30, Wed.-Sat. 10-5:30. 215-242-3080. See you on the Avenue.

Hanging on the back wall of the shop is a final outstanding bit of whimsy — a painting by a dear friend of Cynthia’s, Anne Bourassa. Her paintings are in the primitive style and are reproduced in a color brochure. Definitely for the young and the young-at-heart, they are exhibited and recognized nationally, and have a place in professional publications and in many private collections.

There’s much more, but you must see for yourself. As you stroll the Avenue in the coming spring days, include a stop at Lemons and Limes to give a real tang to your day. Hours: Sun. 12-4, Tues. 12-5:30, Wed.-Sat. 10-5:30. 215-242-3080. See you on the Avenue.