Exploring Front Royal - Old Town Shopping
Gathered
201 E. Main Street
There's a new kid on the block in Front Royal! While some old favorites (like Second Chance) may have passed into memory, several promising new enterprises have added to the charm of Front Royal's historic district this spring. Right off of Main Street you'll find Gathered, a boutique whose quality homespun gifts and artistic jewelry and housewares are a delight to browse.
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| Although Gathered has a Main Street address, the entrance is located on Church Street. |
Proprietor and Savannah native Caydn Speziale feathers the Gathered nest with hand-crafted items ranging from the whimsical to the elegant. These items are produced by skilled artisans, many of whom are local and regional craftspeople. This is a wonderful option for those who want to buy local and support the community's artistic talent.
Creativity is a family-affair for Cayden. She and her husband, area native Andrew Speziale, are both artists who met at the Savannah College of Art & Design. Caydn'sintricately beautiful bead-embroidered cuffs and jewelry can be seen in the case up front, and although his work is not for sale, one of Andrew's amazing pen-and-ink illustrations hangs on the wall behind the counter. The work of Caydn's mother (a crocheted and twisted wire jewelry artist) and her father (a photographer), both teachers at the art college, is for sale in the store.
Gathered offers three rooms of carefully curated merchandise including refurbished furniture and vintage housewares, linens, prints and wall art, fiber crafts of all shapes and sizes, greeting cards, leather journals, pottery and sculpture, baskets, cloth handbags, natural bath and body products, and several styles of jewelry in addition to those already mentioned.
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| Caydn Speziale's bead-embroidered cuff (top right) and wire-and-bead cuffs made by her mother, Deborah Cherry Mosch. |
Gathered offers three rooms of carefully curated merchandise including refurbished furniture and vintage housewares, linens, prints and wall art, fiber crafts of all shapes and sizes, greeting cards, leather journals, pottery and sculpture, baskets, cloth handbags, natural bath and body products, and several styles of jewelry in addition to those already mentioned.
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| Eli the Goat (left) is just one of several felted finger puppets for sale at Gathered. Another of Caydn's embroidered cuffs (top) and a beautiful selection of hand-crafted rings. |
To complement the bricks-and-mortar store, Gathered has recently launched an online shopping venue which allows you to browse more of their stock and buy online if you cannot make it down to the boutique. One of my favorite product lines in the shop is a selection of little felted finger puppets by Connecticut artist Jocelyn Gayle (Petit Felts). I purchased Eli the Goat (above left) for my niece at the shop, but there are several other characters -- Willa the Lamb, Cookie the Hen, and Ben the Fox-- that can be viewed and ordered online.
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| Beaded bracelets, notecards and rustic little stuffed bunnies! |
Gathered is open Tuesday through Saturday from eleven to six, and Sunday from noon until five. Visit the website to see a complete list of artists whose crafts are represented, along with informative biographies and additional photos from the shop. The grapevine section of the site will keep you informed about upcoming events and sales, and you can also follow Caydn's blog to learn more about her work.
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| Top lef: fox sculpture by Front Royal artist John Urbanski IV; Bottom left: pottery by Front Royal artist Kimberly Webb; Top right: basket of linens; Bottom right: felt work. |
201 E. Main Street
Front Royal, VA 22630
(540)-635-1559
Email Gathered
Oh my garsh, this article is fabulous!! Thank you so much for all the kind words!
ReplyDelete-Cadyn