HAMPTON - Even as autumn has arrived, a touch of spring still be found right in Depot Square downtown Hampton. The White Daffodil, a new specialty shop that features unique and different gift items from all over the world to right here in New England, held its grand opening last weekend with an excellent response from its customers. The shop has a marvelous feeling of spring in it, from the delicate scent in the air to that special shade of green and other pastels in the decor which can make anyone feel like they have stepped into a garden in April.

Shop owner Katherine Kerr has worked hard to bring many one-of-a-kind items to the beautiful displays she has set up around the shop. It is the fulfillment of a long-time dream.

"I've always wanted to own my own shop," she says, one that features unique gifts, "not things you see everywhere."

She saw that the space in Depot Square was available earlier this year, and within a week she had secured the location. With her sister Debbie's assistance, she carefully planned and purchased what she needed to make her dream a reality.

The White Daffodil is a shopper's dream-come-true as well. Antique furnishings such as a rodback Windsor bench, a cottage table, hutches, and Prescott country chairs have become backdrops for the wonderful gifts and things that Katherine and Debbie have so carefully and artfully arranged. Like a garden in the springtime, the shop is beautiful to behold.

The White Daffodil is the perfect place to find something for that hard-to-buy-for special someone. There is a wide range of gift items that are just right for any occasion, be it a birthday, wedding shower, housewarming, or anniversary.

Wallhangings, brightly glazed pottery, elegant stoneware lamps, and beautiful needlework pillows make great gift selections. Beautiful and cozy chenille wraps in pastel colors, and soft, luxurious throws by Diane Jackson Cole would be perfect in any home.

[Photo left] DROP BY AND SIT A SPELL - You will find The White Daffodil's tidy little shop in Depot Square in Hampton. [Atlantic News Photo by McGee]

For the whimsical nature lover, coppery green metal sculptures take on the form of larger-than-life backyard insects such as a praying mantis, a dragon fly and a mosquito.

Everyday useful items such as wrapping paper, designer napkins, hand crafted candles and candle holders are in stock. Also available are unique notecards from India that are made with marigold petals and leaves; they would make any personal letter extra special, as would notecards that feature striking designs by Georgia O'Keeffe.

Brass letter openers, trinket boxes, flower bookmarks, duck decoys, coasters and framed art are just of the few of the many other wonderful items the White Daffodil has to offer.

Personal bath products from The Thymes Unlimited feature body washes and lotions, oatmeal baths, and soaps in fragrances of lemongrass and limeleaf, and white ginger. Scented soaps from France and Switzerland, bath sponges, and fragrant honeycomb-shaped soaps that are made with pure honey can make time in the tub extra-special.

Speaking of tub time, kids will find a basketfull of clear glycerine soaps that contain little bathtub treasures such as rubber duckies, whales, and lady bugs. There is also a fun collection of books that feature colorful pictures of animals and insects created from everyday foods, and a book on how to creatively carve a pumpkin - just in time for Halloween. Soft, cute and fuzzy handcrafted bunnies, bears and bees can be found just about everywhere in the shop.

Katherine is getting plenty of encouragement from her fellow business owners in the Hampton area.

"They've been very wonderful and supportive. I want to thank them," she said.

Visitors to her grand opening were treated to cookies and cider, and received a tissue-wrapped daffodil bulb to plant this fall in anticipation of its spring arrival next year.

"I've gotten such a positive response here," she reports of the White Daffodil's grand opening.

The White Daffodil is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 28 Depot Square (off Route 1) in downtown Hampton. The phone number is 929-0289. Stop in at the White Daffodil and step in to a wonderful feeling of spring, and find a unique gift for that special someone - or perhaps, even for yourself.