Nancy Scott's Z Fabrique: The World in Gifts

Nancy Scott' 9-to-5 used to be in the woods. But in the U.S. Forest Service she swiftly found that she loved the trees but not working for the government. And so she went into business for herself.

Now, she has no mind-numbing procedures, nobody to boss her around. And she experiences the world, one treasure at a time.

"I can get things from almost any country, with the exception of the Middle East," said Scott, owner of Z Fabrique, a unique shop of goods in a Spanish-style bungalow. She's been a Long Beach small business owner since 1985. "A lot of the art is spiritual or religious, so there's always a meaning behind it, and I research it."

That way, she added, the customer receives more dimension to share, or gifts the knowledge of other cultures.

When you notice the richly painted wooden women dangling from the ceiling, for instance, Scott can tell you they're crib angels; that they're from Bali, where they're believed to bring good tidings when hung over sleeping babies; as with a shrine, small offerings such as rice are placed on their flat backs.

There are products from Asia, Poland, Mexico and more, in three small rooms of an original stucco former house at 191 Argonne Ave., one door off of Second Street. Z Fabrique is behind the contrastingly modern Luna.

Z Fabrique was located on Fourth Street until 1991, when the L.A. Riots spread looting and destruction south to Long Beach. Some stores on Long Beach Boulevard were ruined. Scott said shops on Fourth were being wrecked by looters when a man standing on top of a building threatened to shoot a gas tank and blow up the place if thieves did not scram.

"But in Belmont Shore, the National Guard was here and they were checking each car before they could come any further down Second Street," Scott recalled. "I thought, 'now that's protecting people. We need to be down here.'"

At that time, a T-shirt shop occupied the storefront where Luna now is, said Scott. When Luna moved in, they sold domestically-made wares, so Scott said she adjusted her inventory to specialize in imports, and the seeming competition actually works for both businesses.

That both shops dinstinctly gift-wrap is but one of many allures of the stores.Z Fabrique's trademark is unbleached brown cardboard boxes with colorful ribbons.

Scott, who also has a San Pedro Z Fabrique shop, has a very sharp sense of humor on display in many of her objects. One wall is especially ripe with funny items. The Edgar Allen Poe action figure and albino bowlers rocked the shop in the past. This year, amusingly dorky fish ornaments line one wall (our favorite are the guppies with braces and headgear, see photo).

Unlike large retailers selling electronics and TVs, Black Friday is typically slower in the boutiques and small businesses of Belmont Shore, which kicks into holiday shopping gear on Saturday and Sunday. The economy has absolutely hurt Second Street area businesses. Scott said fellow shopkeeps agree that it's not that people are buying less; it's that they are not seeing some of their regular locals at all.

Still, Scott thrills each holiday season when she can share folklore and craftmanship that, in some cases, are dying handcraft forms. In the case of "tatting," which is a form of lacemaking, it can no longer be found, she said: "Some of these things we can try and hang onto in keepsakes."