The Norosky Sisters are a unique pair. Some even say they have "twin voices" because they sound so much alike. Carly & Darlene grew up in southern West Virginia where they dreamt up businesses pretty much their whole lives, practicing with lemonade stands, yard sales and toy registers.
Both graduated from Concord University, and both moved out of state. Both kept dreaming of having a business. When visiting each other, both would say "WE COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS" while exploring shops or cafes across the country. (Both secretly jealous of the owners of such establishments.)
Darlene relocated back to WV in 2007 from Ohio and Carly moved back from Washington State in 2008. Both still talked of a shop of some sort, keeping their eyes open on buildings here and there but nothing felt just right... until one morning Carly stumbled across a recently vacated "office" on South Court St. in downtown Fayetteville.
It was after acquiring the space in downtown Fayetteville that the sisters actually decided exactly what to do with it. Both sisters agreed on a few things. They both love candy (the sisters would not leave a candy shop without wax lips in hand, or should i say on lips.) They both love toys (Carly has a toy shelf in her living room. Darlene owns a Peewee Herman doll). They both love color. (Carly has an orange vinyl couch in her living room.) They both love nostalgic/retro/fun stuff. Oh, and they both love ice cream.
The last sentence is false. Darlene actually HATES ice cream. The ice cream idea originated from a friend-- Andrew Adkins, owner of Leland Guitars and lead singer/guitarist for The Wild Rumpus, who said something like "you know what would do AWESOME in Fayetteville-- an ice cream shop! You know, the real, hand-dipped stuff!" And afterall, ice cream did go along perfectly with toys, candy, and all the other stuff we love. So there it was-- an ice cream/toy/candy/gift shop!
The name SWIRL was decided upon much earlier than the ice cream decision. It was going to be the name of a grand art party they hoped to throw someday, and the name seemed to fit perfectly with the new shop.
Swirl as in: superman swirled ice cream, whirlypops, twirling wrap skirts, pottery wheels, spinning tin tops but also as in a mixing of colorful people and ideas together.
With the help of some great friends who worked day and night building, carpeting, flooring, nailing, plumbing, dry walling, painting, and drying stress-filled tears, SWIRL was created. The sisters opened their doors at 2 PM on June 19th, 2009 to a line of smiling customers.
Since its opening, SWIRL has become a gathering place for locals and tourists of all ages. Fayetteville has been voted America's Coolest Small Town for many reasons. Hopefully SWIRL will be another.
We wanted to create a place where people could be kids again. Not a person walks into SWIRL that doesn't smile, or say "Hey, I had one of those when I was a kid!"
SWIRL
117 South Court St
Fayetteville, WV 25840
(304) 574-3005
