Usually Colin and I stay in Malden and operate out of our store there,
while Justin runs Boston Friday-Sunday.
Malden is about a fifteen minute drive from Boston.
This Sunday was Father's Day and Justin was headed to Cape Cod
to meet his GF Madison's grandparents and spend Fathers Day weekend
with them~and doing a little picking for our stores.
So Colin and I headed into Boston bright and early on Sunday via the T.
The "T" is what our public transportation system is called.
I usually drive in, but given we would be there all day long
we figured with parking at a premium we best take the T
and enjoy a little stroll through the city to our shop located in
Boston's South End neighborhood. A view from the T shows the amazing
mirrored facade of the John Hancock Tower.
Colin is laughing because I am trailing him like the paparazzi!
I just wanted you guys to see what our cool city is like.
There are tons of sidewalks like this one with bricks all
slightly heaved from frost and often areas done in cobblestones.
At one time all the streets were paved in cobblestones.
Charm galore~park your bikes in a modern bike rack nestled against
an antique iron fence loaded with pale pink climbing roses
out in an open courtyard of Hammersly's Restaurant.
There is a community garden here as well, right in the middle of the city.
Little shops along our walk~lots of brick can be found
on buildings, walls and sidewalks. More cobblestones~
this is a design element I plan to use in the new store.
Getting nearer now~we walk past the food truck courtyard
which is one block away from our shop. The SOWA vintage market
takes place every Sunday and during the months from May to October
there is this outdoor food market as well as an outdoor farmer market
in another courtyard a few blocks up.
I would be back here later in search of something for lunch!
The green banner proclaims SOWA Sundays as
Colin walks up to our shop. Our Boston shop is opposite that
lamp post up ahead. We are in an old brick building that was
apartments but is now condos and there is this one funky space
on the first floor that the owner turned into a studio shop.
And this is where we opened last September.
Walk up a small staircase to our front doors painted in brilliant Florence!
Colin unlocks the shop as I continue to snap away.
After we get inside the shop we turn on the lights and make sure things are set up
with any last minute touches needed~and then out goes our OPEN flag!
We fling both the doors open wide to encourage people to come on in.
Colin sets out the sandwich board that Justin designed and painted.
Almost immediately shoppers come into check us out.
What is this quirky little store?
The sandwich board tries to give them a clue....
Its not ideal to have to walk up steps...or to have your shop windows
above floor level, but its part of the charm and we have learned to embrace it.
Our shop is a compact 450 square feet of space.
That has been a challenge for Justin to work with every weekend.
We are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We usually sell two
of our larger pieces of furniture and of course different accessories
and then he has to bring in new pieces and rearrange the whole store.
Each week it has a new look, and that has been well received as
shoppers know to come back and see our fresh finds and offerings.
Colin mans the 'cash register" which is our iPad.
I decided to go look around the farmers market at SOWA and then
bring us back something yummy for lunch. There are just mobs of
people everywhere as the SOWA market is quite a draw.
All the vendors from area farms set up in this big lot two blocks up from our shop.
You can buy plants and vegetables and fresh creations like homemade salsas and cheeses.
Lots of people bring dogs with them~they come in our shop all the time.
I thought this little shih-tzu was adorable!
I settled on some great grilled cheese sandwiches Boston style
at this food truck and headed back to the shop.
This mom made dad wait outside while she checked out our shop!
Happy Fathers Day Mike!
A cute little Frenchie brought her mother in here for a look~
And by the end of the day I snapped a couple of pics
so you could get a better look see of how our shop looks inside.
This was a dresser we just finished in Graphite.
This is a gallery wall Justin created with vintage artwork
and one of his fabulous chalkart designs.
Looking to the store windows you can see a few pieces done in
Olive, Chateau Grey and Antibes as well as a terrific old
Columbia girls bike complete with headlight!
And of course our magical paint department that always gets lots
of interest and questions. So many have never heard of Chalk Paint®.
But then they feel the furniture and we tell them how it works with
no sanding, no priming, and no prep for the most part.
That is when I see the lightbulb come on, and they leave with their
pot of paint and wax to head home to paint that project they have been pondering.
We had hundreds of shoppers in and out yesterday on that glorious fathers day.
Colin and I were tired and worn out...
there would be no "T" ride for us~we had Mr. Maison Decor come in and park
and together we walked to a nearby French Bistro for a nice Fathers Day dinner.
Thanks for joining us on our trip into Boston and
playing shopkeeper for a day!
Cheers!
New store opening July 15, 2013
150 Main Street, Reading, MA
Lots of new furniture has been added too,
and we post our listings online so you can look before
you make the trip!
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