House of Cardoon
Brings the Wor ld to
Carmel's Door step
B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D
N
ora Lee Cavallaro didn't know anything
about retail when she went to work for
home goods giant Pottery Barn. She was an art
history major and painter.
"I always thought I'd work in the art world,"
she says. A fast learner, Cavallaro stayed with
the company for a dozen years, traveling the
world as a buyer.
"In my last two years, I traveled to Australia,
the Middle East, Europe, Mexico and South
Korea," she says.
She and her husband lived in the Bay Area
and frequently visited Carmel, where his par-
ents own a home. They made the decision to
relocate last year.
She's taken what she learned to the next
logical step, opening her own outlet, House of
Cardoon—the name derives from a spiky purple
flower that grows in Mexico and California—in
the Carmel Plaza in downtown Carmel-by-the-
Sea in June.
"I had my fill of mass retail," Cavallaro says.
"When I planned this business, my main goal
was to stock as much completely unique prod-
ucts as possible."
So far, so good. The energetic shopkeeper
says that about 70 percent of what she has on
display in this colorful, easy-to-navigate bou-
tique is only available here.
For more information, visit houseofcardoon.com.
SHORTCUTS
BUSINESS
Nora Lee Cavallaro in her Carmel Plaza shop, House of Cardoon, with unique
and colorful items inspired from her travels around the world.
72 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 9
Photo:
Kelli
Uldall
