Local furniture shop goes on 100-mile diet
Ana Matovinovic doesn't just sell furniture. She sells stories.
And she believes people are become increasingly interested in acquiring stories they can relate to from their surrounding community.
It's like the 100-mile diet comes to home decor, says Matovinovic who recently opened Localo Living on Front Street, a home and garden furnishings shop in which the vintage and industrial pieces are all locally-sourced or made and the decorative items crafted by local artists.
"People get an energy from buying local."
They also feel good about rescuing a refurbished couch or dining table that might otherwise have gone to the landfill. And when the pieces are well made with solid wood or welded steel, it's not hard to give them a second or third life, says Matovinovic.
That durability allows them to have a history that Matovinovic loves to share with her customers, either where it came from, how she came to acquire it, or even how it could fit in to their lives.
"Spaces are very bland these days," says Matovinovic, a former photographer who specialized in maternity and baby photos. "All the character has to come from the furniture. It's a great way to express who they are."
Matovinovic finds the pieces for her shop by scouring local online classifieds, estate auctions and second-hand stores, essentially doing the legwork most people don't have the time for. She refurbishes them up as needed and then arranges them in her shop to tweak people's imaginations. That can include turning unlikely items like a produce scale or industrial duct pipes into decorative accents.
"It's all about creating a vignette, showing how to mix styles," says Matovinovic. "It just needs a little effort."
And if she's done her job right, Matovinovic says she's confident the pieces she sells will go on to acquire even more stories to add to their history.
Localo Living is located at 613 Front St. For more information go to www.localoliving.com.
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