A home and gift shop and a handmade soap store are the latest additions to open at The Shops at Yale in New Haven’s historic Chapel Street district.
Yale University Properties celebrated the grand openings on Nov. 1 Tuesday of both Uni-Home Life and Soap-edi with back-to-back ribbon cutting ceremonies.
“We are excited to celebrate the opening of two new women and minority-owned businesses at The Shops at Yale that will be run by local entrepreneurs who are invested in the New Haven community,” said Lauren Zucker, Yale University associate vice president for New Haven Affairs and University Properties.
Üni-Home Life, located at 1046 Chapel St., offers home goods, toys, gadgets, beauty products, gifts, children’s products and more, which are all sourced from China, Korea and Japan.
Owners Christine (Ting) Lin and Szeki Lam, both natives of China, wanted to open a store that was similar to the ones they loved back home.
“There were many stores that sold fun and cute stuff back in China,” said Lin. “I’ve been living in downtown New Haven for four years and I love this city. Our starting point was basically trying to recreate in New Haven our favorite stores that we remembered from our childhood in China.”
Üni-Home Life is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays through Saturdays.
Down the street from Uni Home Life is Soap-edi, an organic soap products shop, located at 1022 Chapel St.
Owner Francia Fortune hand makes all the products using locally-sourced ingredients, with many that come from her own garden, as well as from local farmers’ markets and organic vendors.
What started as a hobby for Fortune has grown into a business and a passion for keeping people healthy and vibrant.
“Every item in this store is personally handcrafted with love and attention by me, and every soap has a health benefit to help keep your skin and body glowing and feeling its best,” Fortune said.
Soap-edi is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Saturday.
