Sunday, April 27, 2014

Opening a new store in Boston! But with a twist~

 Boston's South End is getting a new store!
For my newer followers of the blog, Maison Decor used to have
a shop on Harrison Ave in the city's South End, but we decided not to 
renew the lease and wait for a better location.  My son Justin ran the Boston
store and has been on the lookout ever since we closed last September. 
It was a tough decision because we loved being in the city, but knew
the right thing to do was get a better spot. And a better spot I think he found!
Check out the beautiful brownstone and the corner shop with the green door.
That is going to be our new store! 
 He found it on a Saturday on Craiglist and went right in to take a look.
The next day I went back with him to check it out and I agreed~!
It looked perfect!! The broker took our photo as we stood outside the door.
It has these neat iron gates with tiny garden spaces along both sides of the shop
and then there are two large picture windows with display space for creating
a buzz for the foot traffic and the neighborhood.
This time, however, there would be a twist in our retail plan.
This was going to be a brand new concept and it would be all Justin's.
I have been his sounding board and do some consulting 
and its been so exciting and a bit strange to not have 
design control over this store.  Its like watching your kid learn to 
ride a bike, or climb a tree.  You don't put him on the bike until
you are pretty sure he can pedal off without crashing!!
And he is ready to peddle~he has been going full speed ahead
since we signed the lease about ten days ago. 
 So it was in September 2012, that I found our first Boston location. 
 It was a funky little space in an artsy district of Boston. 
I was super excited and Justin was going to run this store. 
 The more we got into the day to day operations,
 the more it morphed into something that was his own.
 We shined this shabby little store up and became a cool little shop.
 On weekends we did particularly well as there was a 
lot of foot traffic linked to the popular vintage market down the street,
 called SOWA Vintage Market.  But during the week, this street
was pretty quiet.  We felt if we could have everyday passers by find us,
 they would see what all the buzz was about that 
the vintage market goers experienced in our Harrison Ave shop.  
We had write ups in local and national design mags, 
and mentions on Racked Boston and other publications.
Lesson learned that pedestrian and car traffic is an important factor.
Justin used to live in the South End for years and has local connections.
He fits right in, and we are excited to be opening a store again in the South End
on a busy street, with more space, and that has big windows and is right on street level
instead of a walk up space like our old shop was.
The former W salon used to be in this space.  The logos have
been removed on the windows and there will be new signage coming!
However it won't be another Maison Decor.  Nope! 
Justin has a new name for his store, 
and Maison Decor is the parent company for his new shop.
I love the name,  its pretty cool!! 
I am loving every move he has made so far.  I won't be
deluded to think we will always be on the same page, but so far so good.
 I bet you would love to see a few inside pics too, right?
 This is the raw space, a large rectangular room
 with white walls and ceilings
and a kind of front and back area due to the
 division of the space with a partial wall. 
Its about 1000 square feet, more than double our old space.
 Justin got straight to work and had the ceilings painted out black
as the first step.  We loved having the ceilings painted black when we did the 
Reading store.  It makes the space feel more cozy and yet expansive.
His next move was a Billiards Green for the walls and trim.
And thats where this story ends.  I will be giving updates
on the store as it develops.  Its thrilling to watch and see the pics come
in over my phone via text or instagram. 
You can follow along on instagram
@PioneerGoods, and the Reading shop @shopmaisondecor 
or my instagram @amymaisondecor.
If you are a visual person, you might really like Instagram.
Pioneer Goods Co will sell Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan of course.
But it will be a whole lot more than that...so stay tuned!!
We will be closing our Malden Warehouse and running a blowout
furniture clearance sale on Sunday May 4th! So if you are around, 
you won't want to miss it!
We will be bidding a sad adieu to our Malden location.
Sniff, sniff. 


Photobucket

16 comments:

  1. Lots of changing going on up your way! I wish your son the best of luck with his own business now. I'm sure he learned a lot from you.

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  2. I wish him luck and look forward to all the posts. wish I was within driving distance for that sale.

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  3. It does look like the perfect spot, I love the black ceiling! I will be looking forward to the updates! Good luck to your son!

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  4. Looks amazing! You had me at the logo. Started following on instagram…excited to see all about it, so please share!

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  5. VERY exciting and I feel so lucky to have seen Maison Decor in the flesh from its very beginnings!! Congrats to Justin and I do love that name....could see it becoming a household name:)
    Great things happening over there!!

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  6. So exciting--and I will love to see everything he does. I can imagine your pride. Will he now be a stockist for Annie Sloan? Best of luck to him--this is exciting!

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  7. Oh, Amy, I know you are happy/sad. It is bittersweet in a way...but life really has a way of moving us along. Your son is such a special guy and you have been a pillar of strength and information in getting your first place up and running. The nut hasn't fallen far from the proverbial tree here, has it?

    I am excited for both of you. I bet that you will love having some freedom again where every thought is not "shop" and, yet, you will be able to contribute in your own way to this next adventure, too.

    I am proud of you, Amy. I remember when the first shop was just a thought in the back of your mind and look how far you've come. You did good, my friend...very.very.good! xo Diana

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  8. Good luck to you in your new location, Amy!

    I get to Boston occasionally and will plan to pop in one day and say hi for sure!

    Exciting news! Keep us posted.
    Alison :)

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  9. Exciting times Amy and Justin. Best of luck on your new endeavor !

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  10. Love what your son has done so far with the new store. I look forward to future posts on how things progress! I sure wish I was close to Boston so I could check out your sale! Good Luck to you both!

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  11. congratulations, you guys! this shop has so much character, and what an incredible project for justin to take on and nurture! i know it'll be welcomed to the community with much success.

    best.

    michele

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  12. Congrats Amy and Justin! That is such a great location. My boyfriend used to live down the street from there and it is a busy street. So many exciting things are happening for you guys!

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  13. So many changes, but so exciting too, congrats to your son and you on your new store, I just purchase a beautiful urn from your shop and I'm looking forward to receiving it ;-)

    Smiles~
    Mari

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  14. Can't tell you how excited I am for you both! I can't wait to see the new place! Big year for Justin!

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  15. How exciting for him and for you! I love the logo, it is totally cool, and i like the black ceilings too. Fascinating to see how this is all playing out.

    Cindy

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  16. Congrats on the new store/location...success so well deserved!...

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