In 1976 Mary Lou Furlong, a suburban housewife and all-around good egg, decided that she would take the skill that she had honed working as a buyer for local charitable gift shops, and start her own business. Together with her husband Bernard, Mary Lou started on a most excellent adventure.

In the Spring of 1976 Copley Flair opened at 583 Boylston Street, the center of Copley Square. At that time the square was not the posh neighborhood that it is today. The beautiful brick lined plaza of today was then a 70's jungle of concrete blocks. Where today the Four Seasons Hotel stands was at that time the Playboy Club (Grooovy Baaby!!). Through hard work, determination and most importantly a lot of kindly good service, people of Boston fell in love with Mary Lou, Bernie and their baby, Copley Flair.

Fast forward to 1987. Copley Flair's second venture opened in the Spring of that year in the historic Old Globe Bookstore Building. Picture a place where in the 1800's Longfellow and Hawthorne went to buy their books. Pretty cool huh! This store also had the advantage of being smack dab in the middle of the Freedom Trail (a marked route of historical places that runs throughout Boston) The store was so well received that it quickly attracted a very loyal following.

In 1992, Copley Flair branched out into Brookline's Coolidge Corner, a hip suburb of Boston, and was an immediate success. Good for Copley Flair were the many former students and other residents of Copley Square who had moved to Brookline, rediscovered the store when it opened in their new neighborhood.

Most recently, Copley Flair has opened at 176 Federal Street at the heart of Boston's Financial District. If you are one of the thousands of people who commute from areas South of Boston, you will pass Copley Flair on the way to work everyday.

Upon entering any Copley Flair location you will immediately be struck by the distinctiveness of your surroundings. Throughout its history, the members of the staff of Copley Flair have labored hard and traveled long to find goods that have both quality and originality. Copley Flair is not a traditional bland, boring card shop.

Copley Flair sells cards from hundreds of different artists and designers.

Complementing the beautiful card selection is the fine writing paper that, even with E-mail being such a part of everyone's life, people still understand the virtue of using.

Fine giftware from baby collectibles to home decor are always in fashion.

Wrapping is an art form with Copley Flair's imported papers and fine ribbons.

Wedding invitations, birth announcements and change of address are a snap.

Copley Flair's employees love their work. Whether it is assisting customers in picking the right item or even placing last minute special orders, they always work harder .

So that's our story and that's our Flair. Come experience it for yourself.