Earlier this year I’ve shot a few portraits of the owner of the Celtic Shoppe in downtown Campbell for the exhibit
“The Entrepreneurial Experience of American Immigrants.” It’s currently on display at the Campbell Historical Museum.
While working on this project, I caught myself thinking, wouldn’t it be wonderful to know more about local businesses?
So I decided that once in a while I would go talk to the business owners in my area and feature their stories in my blog.
This is the story of Catherine Cauagnaro, owner of the Celtic Shoppe located at 354 E Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA 95008.
Catherine came to the US from Ireland when she was 20 years old. She married an American who loved Celtic culture and who had even lived in Scotland while working for Stanford. His love inspired Louis Cauagnaro (that's Catherine's husband's name) to open the Celtic Shoppe 35 years ago. At first, Catherine just helped out at the store while working at a local school. But when Louis passed away, she took over the Celtic Shoppe. Originally, it was located in Cupertino where it has stayed for 24 years. Then it moved and for the last 11 years it has been located in downtown Campbell at 354 E Campbell Ave. Catherine has a vibrant and open personality and is a joy to talk to so if you have a chance, stop by and say hello.
This is a traditional Irish love token which represents love, loyalty, and friendship (the hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the crown represents loyalty).
