Finding Beauty On A Budget At Chelsea Gardens

By Kaaren Valenta

Don’t be misled by the name. Chelsea Gardens is more than a garden décor shop.

The company is Connecticut’s newest factory outlet for high quality home, gift, and garden décor, where a unique collection from all over the world is offered at wholesale prices.

The tiny shop at the intersection of Routes 25 and 59 in Monroe is overflowing with a constantly changing stock of handcrafted baskets, pottery, wrought iron furniture, ceramics, Italian porcelain, toile, boxes, trays, mirrors, and other accessories that can be used many ways both inside and outside the home.

The look is expensive; the prices are not.

“A Weston family that has been in the importing business for 20 years decided to start their own retail stores and sell direct to the consumer,” explained Julieanne Hopkins, the company’s vice president of administration. “That’s why the prices are so low. The items come from all over the world and a lot of them are designed specifically for Chelsea Gardens so you won’t see them in other stores.”

The Monroe store, which opened in April of last year, was so successful that the company has since opened similar stores in Westport and Cos Cob.

“We selected this site [in Monroe] because Newtown is just up the road and Easton,Trumbull, and Shelton are all close by,” Ms Hopkins said.

In Monroe the store is located in the same shopping center as Dr Mike’s Ice Cream, Noel’s restaurant, Sunwheel Natural Foods, A Sense of Self gift store, and several other interesting small shops.

A display of garden décor outside Chelsea Gardens includes the store’s most expensive item, a wrought iron bench that would retail for $399 but sells here for $199. Like many of the other wrought iron pieces –– bistro sets, folding screens, étagères, a baker’s rack –– the bench folds flat for convenient storage.

Items start at $2.99 and range up to $29.99 for a large Italian porcelain serving dish.

“We have 99-cent garden picks that people have used as deer deterrents and even as bidding paddles at auctions,” said store manager Lisa Noonan. Ms Noonan, who has two children of her own, said it is especially nice that there are many items priced so that even children can afford to shop there for gifts.

Many of the items come in graduated sizes that can be grouped together, like a stack of reproduction suitcases to form an end table, or purchased separately. Painted wood and metal boxes and trunks, highly styled birdcages, large cast-iron trivets that also can be hung as architectural elements or laid as stepping stones, wooden cabinets, plant stands, mirrors, trays, clocks, and other items fill the shop in displays that reach to the ceiling. Painted cast-iron candelabras in two sizes are priced at just $6.99 and $14.99 and work both as accent pieces on the mantel and inside the fireplace.

A three-tier étagère, $29.95, is equally at home in the bathroom or kitchen or in the baby’s room next to a changing table. Various size Nantucket-style baskets in natural wood, white, and ceramic are extremely popular gift items. A selection of steel-reinforced baskets that fit glass or metal baking pans come with cotton liners that can be removed and washed. Wine caddies that hold one, two, or three bottles can also be used to hold matchsticks next to a fireplace.

The shop draws from a wide demographic area including realtors who “stage,” or redecorate, houses for sale, and people who need centerpieces for weddings, showers, or corporate functions. It is a popular stop for guests who need hostess gifts, parents looking for teacher gifts, and anyone who wants a small, inexpensive, high-quality item.

“This shop is good for people who are just starting out because their money goes a long way –– they don’t have to dig deep in their pockets,” Ms Hopkins said.

New merchandise comes in twice a week at Chelsea Gardens but the stock changes more often than seasonally and often includes one-of-a-kind items, so “if you see it and want it, buy it, because it might not be available next time you are here,” Ms Hopkins said. “When customers come in they walk around the store two or three times to see everything. It helps them get creative.”

One very popular spring and summer item has been the wildflowers that look real but are made in India and China from –– of all things –– recycled automobile tires.

Chelsea Gardens holds wine and cheese parties, continental breakfasts, and other private events at the stores as fundraisers, giving the organization a percentage of the sales. “We create the invitations and supply all the [nonalcoholic] refreshments,” Ms Hopkins said.

People who come to the store, even if they don’t buy anything, are offered a free basket.

“It’s always a nice atmosphere here,” Ms Noonan said. “Everyone leaves with a smile.”

This week the store is having a clearance sale, getting ready to restock for autumn stock and is selling everything on a 50 percent off sale. Remember that $399 bench that sells for $199? It’s now $99.50.

Chelsea Gardens is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday from 10 to 5. The address is 440 Main Street, Monroe. For more information call 261-3399.