Berwyn resident Laurie Richter made an unexpected career change recently when she decided to open her own business — an eco-friendly gift shop in Berwyn’s Depot District.

Richter’s store — Fly Right Gifts — opened earlier this month to offer unique finds for the environmentally conscious bunch and fun gifts for everyone else.

In recent years, Richter said she has become increasingly conscious of the environment — beginning a compost bin, switching to cloth rather than paper napkins, and implementing use of a rain barrel in her own backyard. Richter said she hopes her store can help Berwyn residents in their own efforts to go green.

“In the past couple of years, my husband and I have been trying to be more politically correct and environmentally correct,” said the Berwyn resident of two years. “The more you read about it, the more sense it makes. I have a philosophy that everything old becomes new again.”

To that end, many of the products in Richter’s store have been made from recycled materials, including handmade jewelry, picture frames, coasters, keychains, and notebooks. Richter’s store also offers a selection of vintage jewelry, wooden toys, organic candy, all-natural bath and body products, soy candles, notecards and stationary, as well as an array of CDs from Berwyn-based artists.

Richter worked in the jewelry and giftware industry for a decade, but when she found herself out of work earlier this year, she decided it was a good time to start working for herself.

“One door closes and another one opens,” Richter said. “It took me a year and a half to find what door to open for myself. I figured there’s something better for me.”

Richter was aided in making her business idea a reality by the Depot District Merchants Association, a group dedicated to promoting existing businesses and bringing life to aspiring ones in the area. The association helped Richter find the perfect location for her store at 6902 Windsor Ave. in the Depot District, walking distance from her Berwyn home.

Berwyn resident Tom Stebbins works with the merchants association as a co-owner of Over the Rainbow Ice Cream Parlor. Stebbins said the Depot District needs more new, unique businesses like Richter’s to open in the area.

“We want people to open businesses in the Depot area, because the more there are, the more foot traffic there is, and that helps everyone in this area,” Stebbins said. “We thought (Fly Right Gifts) would be a good fit. A lot of the younger people moving to Berwyn seem to be more conscious of going green and being environmental.”

Richter took the name for her store from Nat King Cole’s song “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” a song the business owner sees as a parable about doing the right thing.

“I’d like to show people that, yes, Clorox is making green products now, but you can also buy from a company that never used any pollutants for relatively the same price,” Richter said. “I’d rather support companies that do their part for the environment.”

To find out more about Berwyn resident Laurie Richter’s eco-friendly gift shop Fly Right Gifts, visit the store at 6902 Windsor Avenue or call (708) 484-7899.