©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Maureen Werther
A new boutique, rōv & reeds, has opened at 24 Caroline St. in Saratoga Springs, selling a range of imported soft furnishings, rugs, hand-crafted Moroccan leather goods, pillows, textiles and art, along with other items from Southeast Asia and Morocco.
The shop also offers hand-crafted furniture, sculptures, wall art and handmade jewelry by local artists such as Jenny Horstman, who creates horse sculptures using scrap iron, and Peter Reed, owner of Rusticworks canvas and leather designs.
Owner Molly Reed partnered with her father, Tim Reed, who is also the owner of reeds on Exchange Street in Glens Falls.
Molly and her father decided to team up in her endeavor after she returned from a four-month shopping trip across Southeast Asia and Morocco. During her travels, she purchased rugs, pillows, silks and textiles from artists in Thailand, Myamar, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal and Morocco, with a plan to sell them on her online boutique, rovimports.com.
"I grew up with a father who loved finding unique items and restoring them. He also loved seeking out original pieces of art and furniture," she said.
She said everyone in her family is self employed. After completing graduate school in hotel management and working 70-hour weeks for five years as hotel manager for the Four Seasons in Baltimore, she was ready for a change.
She quit her job in Baltimore and spent three months in Spain. It was there she formulated a plan to become an importer and start a business of her own. She loves traveling and has inherited her father's passion for beautiful and unique things.
"It all just began to make perfect sense to me," she said.
She decided that she needed to get her online business up and running first. Then, about a month ago, as she was strolling through downtown Saratoga, she noticed that 24 Caroline St., which had been occupied by Halfmoon Cellars Winery, was vacant.
Within 15 days of "stumbling upon the vacant storefront," Reed signed a three-month lease and opened for business on July 4, just in time for the busy summer season. She said she feels like she is doing exactly what she is supposed to be doing with her life and career.
Reed will be open daily between now and the end of September. Items in the boutique range in price from as low as $3 for a bar of handmade soap, and as high as $4,800 for a horse sculpture.
For more information about rōv & reeds, visit www.rovimports.com.