Chris Wangensteen-Eklund greets her customers with Southern charm.
“Southerners are known for hospitality and entertaining, and that’s kind of how I wanted my store to evoke its personality,” says Wangensteen-Eklund, who opened Pear Tree House, a gift-centric boutique in St. Philip’s Plaza, 4320 N. Campbell Ave., last October.
The shop, which she describes as a showcase of “classic and gracious living,” sells everything from $3 candles to $250 designer handbags. Artfully arranged tableware decorates several oversized dining room tables, complemented by upholstered furniture that sells for more than $1,000.
Pear Tree House evokes the manners and lifestyle that Wangensteen-Eklund grew up with, first as a girl at the historic Pear Tree House in Virginia, and then at Pear Tree Farm in South Carolina.
The properties were unrelated, and their shared names were a coincidence. When Wangensteen-Eklund began mulling over a name for her long-imagined boutique in Tucson, “Pear Tree” felt right.
Johanna Willett | This Is Tucson
Reporter