Welcome to our new journal series!

One of our favorite things about TELL is the people we meet, the collaborations, and relationships we have cultivated.

We wanted to create a space to feature New England makers, small businesses, craftspeople, farmers, artists, chefs, etc. With out the confines of the quarterly issue themes. We also wanted a space where we could get to know the stories and people behind the amazing products and places we love to visit and #shopsmall with. This is the start of that!

Each month we will be featuring a different small business that we enjoy and stand behind. We think it's so important to support our local economy and community and we hope you feel the same! If you enjoyed this and want to suggest a business or person we should feature please email us at info@tellnewengland.com

Meet The Maker : Laurel Grove

Words & photographs by Jennifer Bakos

On a crisp winter morning I walked into the Laurel Grove shop in Sudbury, Massachusetts, greeted by small trinkets, locally made goods, refreshingly rustic tables, and two passionate women who are business partners and friends. We quickly got acquainted and into what makes this creative venture so special.

To quote their website: "Our shop is a special place where we hope our community can gather to find gorgeous, unique home décor and gifts and also inspiration and warmth. In it, you will find an eclectic mix of home accents and gifts ranging from vintage to handmade to new. Featuring local makers and talented artisans is “wicked” (have to get our New England in here somewhere!) important to us and we absolutely adore our shop contributors."

We couldn't agree more! Scroll down to keep reading...

Kim and Michelle met because they were both living in Sudbury and both working on similar creative projects and selling similar goods. They decided that they could use their combined talents to open up a shop they had been dreaming up and eventually took the plunge! That was over a year ago and since then they have built up a client base, made priceless connections, and are even moving into a bigger space down the street! (more on that later).

The two friends wanted to start a business that was a little more unique than your typical antique co-op shop where people rented out booths. They wanted to create a place where both their customers and local artisans could come and feel welcome and like they were part of the community and make it more about an experience than just a store.

They both feel strongly about making the connection with their customers and really tapping into what it is the customer wants and what they are hoping to find. They will keep in touch with customers looking for specific items and give them a call when they find something they had been interested in. Their personal relationships with clients are what they feel really drives the business. They also love to work with people that do estate clean outs or barn tear downs to find unique goods and things they can give a new life to before it goes to auction or sale.

Michelle is the sourcing and numbers expert and Kim works on getting to know what the customers want and keeps up with the website and social media side of things. The two both work hard to bring fresh items and ideas to the shop.

They recently launched their online store, where you can purchase some of their goods if you don't live near by, but the bigger news is of course their move to a larger storefront!

April 1st will be the big day they will be opening the new space. Their hope is to create an even more dynamic facility for their customers but also will have a lot more room to work on custom pieces. My favorite part of this new venture is that they will be opening up their shop to host workshops from local makers such as floral design, calligraphy, and painting! We cannot wait to see how the business grows from here!