From coffee tables to suede boots, throw pillows and well read paperbacks…The Turnover Shop, Wilton’s beloved consignment and thrift store, encompasses a rich tapestry of other people’s storied soup bowls, mugs and perhaps a sense of belonging. Just ask Sharon Sobel, longtime Turnover president and face of the treasured trove that supports Wilton’s PTAs and Visiting Nurse and Hospice as well as a host of other town wide organizations — to the tune of a $244,000 donated in 2025 alone.
This longtime resident, seeker of solace and distinguished author/University of Connecticut English professor sat down with Lesley Gyorsok for some straight talk on AI, the true meaning of a compliment and why sometimes a few hours is all it takes to make a big difference in the town we call home.
1. What’s your coming to Wilton story?
Sharon Sobel: My husband’s company moved us down to this area but it was actually our school principal back in Newton, MA who recommended coming to Wilton. In fact, my son started kindergarten here. My daughter was already in third grade and I had a little one at home still. We came down on Mother’s Day weekend to the area and we looked for one day and decided to buy the house that we’ve been living in now for over 40 years. We didn’t know anyone who even lived in Connecticut.
2. I’m a bit of a grammatical tornado so I feel very blessed to have people like my GMW editor Heather in my life. What are some of the extra commas and irregardless(es) that make you cringe?
Sobel: It’s homophones. It came up in a student paper today. She was using the wrong ‘compliment’. It was interesting because she was talking about colors, but she meant that people were complimenting her. It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. Actually, the thing that drives me crazy now, (although I take it with good humor), is AI. So on one hand it’s eliminated a lot of the grammatical edits from papers but it really takes away from individuality also. There’s certain patterns of how AI writes. It’s a sure giveaway when a student writes a note saying, “here is my assignment” and their email has 10 grammatical errors, the wrong syntax, all kinds of things and then the essay begins with “the intersection of reality and the creative imagination”…no way! It’s a different person, a different voice.
Lesley Gyorsok: I know. I was talking to my younger daughter about this the other day. She was working on an essay and I told her to write how she speaks. I don’t know if that was good advice. Sometimes when I try to make myself “sound smart,” it backfires on me. Although writing was always easier than math for me. Are you a math girl?
Sobel: I’m not a math girl but let me just say that The Turnover gives you a certain finesse in math. Those ladies have to be on their game. I’ll ring up something and I’ll say, “okay with tax, that’s $15.95” and they’ll look at me and say, “how do you know that?” Well, because I’ve done it so many times…..
3. Most of my wardrobe actually consists of four quarter specials from that little treasure trove. Where do our dollars go and what are some of the organizations and causes the Turnover supports?
Sobel: The Turnover was founded over 80 years ago, at which time it was called the Wilton Toggery. Primarily it was winter boots and snow suits for younger kids. That’s where it kind of started. But in fact, from the very beginning, the mission of The Turnover was to support the good health and education of the town of Wilton. So our primary beneficiaries are the PTAs and Visiting Nurse and Hospice. But among our other charities are the Wilton Library, the Volunteer Ambulance [Corps], the Norwalk River Valley Trail, Woodcock Nature Center, the Connecticut Humane Society. Everyone who’s working there [The Turnover] is committed to it. It’s more than just the place where you show up and volunteer. It’s an interesting place to volunteer because you’re not brought together by the ages of your children or whether you have children. All you really have to do is be willing to work, and it’s not a prohibitive amount of time. Most volunteers work about three hours a month.
4. I don’t think I was ever quite the same after “The Storied Life of AJ Fikry.” What’s a book that changed you?
Sobel: Well, one book that certainly did put me on a path for my writing was Pride and Prejudice. I primarily write Regency [style]. My academic field is the Victorian novel and my writing life was influenced a lot by that.
5. How does faith show up in your life?
Sobel: I’m very active in several organizations for sure. My husband and I both have been very active at the synagogue in Georgetown. We’ve been members for 40 years. I was also the president of Women of Reform Judaism Northeast District which is all of New England, New York and Canada and also of Connecticut Hadassah. So it’s been both that I’m looking for solace and stillness in crazy times and that also that it allows me to focus. It’s provided a huge community of people with shared concerns and missions… a willingness to do good in the world. So I guess it’s not that different from The Turnover and it’s tangential to what we’re saying but sometimes there is a sense that local and personal histories make their way through the shop, too. Nobody’s being paid but everyone who’s working there is committed to it. That’s one of the reasons why The Turnover is so intriguing — because belonging comes not because of religion or through churches or synagogues or schools. All of those are important, too. Our volunteers come from all walks of life.
Gyorsok: It’s so nice. It’s important. It’s really important to feel like you belong somewhere…