By Susan E. Campbell

The owner of Old Saratoga Mercantile, 1120 Route 29 in Schuylerville, left a job in journalism and now sells naturally grown produce and other natural goods that come to her from farms in the area.

Old Saratoga Mercantile gives vendors in the region, some of whom previously sold only out of their homes, a place to sell their wares seven days a week.

Christina Myers had been a journalist doing stories on local government and the political scene for 15 years. But going into business and starting a store was not, she said, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Actually, Myers and her then-fiancé purchased the vacant five-acre plot to build a home and wanted enough land to farm much of their own food. The idea to tear down a brick structure—an antique store up until the early 2000s—and to turn an outdated barn on the property into an old-time shop sprouted soon enough.

She visited dozens of farms and producers, sampling their products, talking to the owners and customers, and doing all the fact-checking so her customers wouldn’t have to scrutinize every label to ensure the product was responsibly made.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

The owners of Revive salon, at 3257 Route 9, Saratoga Springs, understand that both men and women like to feel and look their best.

Juliet Martino and Leslie Shea have worked hard to create a salon that they are proud to call their own.

Martino said that she and Shea have worked together in several other locations. Since opening on Route 9 this past summer, business has never been better for either of them.

“I became so booked I had to expand my business. And Leslie wanted to get more into skin care,”  said Martino. “Business has been amazing. It has provided us a chance to expand. Our business is now doing better than it ever has. Our goal is to grow our hair and skin services to maximum potentia.”

Martino, 26,  has eight years experience in the hair industry, is a licensed cosmetologist and specializes in hair color. Shea, 35,  is an aesthetician and nail technician. She has been  providing  skin care and nail treatments  for over 10 years.

“She started her skin care adventure at a dermatologist then moved to the salon industry to grow her own business, “ said Martino.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

During her first week of high school, Wonderland Grooming owner Laura Acquavella, walked into a neighborhood dog grooming salon and asked for a job sweeping up. That job was the first step toward her dream of owning a pet grooming business.

After eight years of working at two grooming salons, while attending school, Acquavella received her Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. She worked in federal service for almost 20 years, before retiring this past winter.

She said it was during that time that she made the decision to never lose sight of her ultimate goal of not only being a groomer, but being her own boss as well. She became a certified dog groomer and graduated from the Golden Paws Pet Styling Academy in Clifton Park in 2013. 

She worked as the head groomer at a local dog boarding facility and volunteered her grooming services to rescue dogs.

“I never lost sight of what I really wanted to do. My plan was to wait until retirement, but then I decided it was just time to do it, and it has been great,” said Acquavella.