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Princeton’s newest boutique filling a high-profile location

By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
   The expansive shop windows at the corner of Nassau and Chambers streets won’t stand empty much longer.
   Cheryl Goldsmith, the owner of Ma Chérie Boutique in Pennington, will be opening a new branch of the boutique in Princeton, at the site which formerly housed Go For Baroque.
   ”This was absolutely our top pick,” said Ms. Goldsmith, 47, last Thursday afternoon at the boutique site where — with the help of her husband, George,who had taken the day off from his job at Forrest Laboratories Inc. — she was putting the finishing touches on a new paint job in anticipation of the boutique’s October debut. Her family having lived in West Windsor for 13 years Ms. Goldsmith said she always had her eye on setting up in downtown Princeton.
   Ms. Goldsmith has operated Ma Chérie Boutique in Pennington for almost a year with the help of her sister Gayle DeAndrea, a resident of New Hope, Pa. Now with a new shop set to open, Ms. DeAndrea is leaving her job at Educational Testing Service to join Ms. Goldsmith full time at Ma Chérie Boutique. Also joining her “full time” will be Ms. Goldsmith’s beloved toy poodle Twinkle, who has been a fixture at the Pennington store since its opening and is featured, along with Ms. Goldsmith and her sister, on the boutique’s logo.
   ”The little dog in the picture is actually real, and she comes to work with me every day,” Ms. Goldsmith said.
   The new store will feature similar items offered in her Pennington shop, Ms. Goldsmith said, with a number of lines of apparel including Ronen Chen; Brighton handbags, jewelry and accessories; and Trollbeads, the mix and match bracelet beads from Scandinavian firm Lund Trading.
   ”Basically what I’ve been trying to do is get the best quality merchandise at affordable prices,” she said.
   ”My other store is all done whimsical and pink,” Ms. Goldsmith said. “We thought we’d keep it a little more elegant,” she said of the Princeton space’s more muted, earthier tones.
   Prior to opening her own boutique, Ms. Goldsmith worked at Serendipity in Pennington, learning the business. Before that she had a career with Northwest Airlines as a customer service representative, while raising her three children, Nicole, Ashley and George, now 25, 23 and 21 respectively.
   ”After 9/11 it got too much (in the airline industry) and I said I think I’ve had enough, and a month later it sort of fell in my lap, the store in Pennington, and I found I really loved it,” said Ms. Goldsmith of how she wound up at Serendipity and found her calling operating women’s boutiques.
   Despite the current economic turmoil, Ms. Goldsmith said she is hopeful that her Princeton store will be a success. “Even in this economy my Pennington store is really doing well,” she said.
   Ms. Goldsmith already has plans for bringing together some neighboring shops for joint promotions. “In November we are going to have a big fashion show,” she said.
   And she is well aware of the holiday precedent set by her predecessor in the space, Go For Baroque, which created elaborate window displays for the winter holidays. Ms. Goldsmith said she intends to carry on the tradition.
   ”One of my window designer girls is working on it right now,” she said.
    Ma Chérie Boutique will be located at 20 Nassau St., at the corner of Chambers Street in Princeton. Its current location is at 16 North Main St. in Pennington. The telephone number is (609) 737-6510 and the Web site is www.macherieboutique.com.