Monday, June 17, 2013

Come along with me and Colin to work in Boston!


 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!



Photobucket

14 comments:

  1. Your Boston shop looks so charming! I love the location. I've never been to Boston before, but I'm sure I would love it. Looks like you get a lot of foot traffic around your store. Love the cute sandwich board y'all added! Your shop is the kind I enjoy stopping in at. I SO wish I lived closer so I could pop in often and join your paint workshops. They look like fun. Can't wait to see pics of your new shop once it's ready. You must be doing something right to open 3 locations now (even though one will be a studio).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the shop, Amy...especially the Open Bar Wall. You did that in Paris Grey, right? Is there a wash of wite over it, too? Love it. Thanks for the stroll through my favorite little city! Somehow I missed the third location...awesome! Off to snoop...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Amy, this is why I want to get to Boston one of these days soon! Your shop looks so great in that small amount of square footage! You seem to get good traffic. ? Why open only three days? Question 2, what are Boston Grilled cheese sandwiches?

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    ReplyDelete
  4. Karen, The Boston style grilled cheese was swiss cheese with turkey and jalepno apricot spread and applewood bacon. Not sure why they called it a Boston cheese! And that area of Boston is only active on weekends~so that is why the 3 days.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jami the wall is 50/50 chateay grey and paris grey...then i added a bit of old ochre and french linen and washed that on in areas for highs and lows. xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Kelly! Its a quirky little shop with unique stuff and its ever changing. We get cook customers too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would so love to visit Boston sometime, Amy! All of the architecture and history there is so intriguing! I can't even imagine where you get all of your energy running your shops, but you certainly found your niche! :) Congrats on a job well done! I can hardly wait to see what magic you do in your 3rd store! :)

    xoxo laurie

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's ALL so charming. The city, the cobblestones, the food trucks, your shop. If i lived there i would be checking in on the shop every weekend to see what new goodies you added! It would be part of my weekend routine!

    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  9. loved tagging along and will visit all your locations someday. the tour de maison decor! love the graphite chest and the eclectic feel of the teeny shop.

    smiles to you.

    michele

    ReplyDelete
  10. Another shop??? Girl...you are amazing!! Thank you for taking us on a tour of your Boston shop. It's delightful.
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Loved visiting the store on a Sunday! That market looks like so much fun. I bet a bunch of the same people hit your store every weekend to see what is new. Love that little store. What a great neighborhood.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really enjoyed your post today as I have never been to Boston. Do you have a sign up sheet in your shop for people who might want to follow your blog? Just thought it might be a good idea. Continued blessings

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amy, I never tire of looking at the shop and dreaming of what it must feel like to actually walk through it! I was in Boston many years ago and rode the "T" into a downtown area - can't really recall what exact part of town I was in, but I loved everything I saw. If I'm ever lucky enough to travel back, Maison Decor will be at the top of my list of places to see.
    Diane

    ReplyDelete
  14. The store looks fabulous and just love the sandwich sign!...His chalkboard art is amazing...thanks for taking us on a tour of your day!!

    ReplyDelete

 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...