Paint Passion took over a space in the Dublin House alley formerly occupied by a jewelry store/surfboard shop. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD & SUSAN ERICSON
Tucked away in the row of small shops next door to the Dublin House Pub in Red Bank is one of two new boutiques featured in this edition of Retail Churn: a specialty paint store called Paint Passion.
The other, located just across Monmouth Street from the pub, combines two businesses in one: vintage clothing and hot yoga.
Patty Seaman in her new specialty paint shop. Below, a view of the new Wayward & Co. Explorers. (Photo above by John T. Ward; below by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Paint Passion opened a month ago in in the space last occupied by jewelry and surfboard retailer Outside Set – previously called Lee Yarnell Jewelers – and marks the growth of a business owned by Little Silver resident Patty Seaman.
Seaman tells Churn that after 21 years as a headhunter in the Washington, D.C. area, she returned home to Little Silver to care for her ailing mother and refashioned herself as a decorative wall refinisher, with expertise in applying plasters. That led, eventually, to the discovery of Chalk Paint, a product developed two decades ago by a British woman, Annie Sloan.
Dubbed “chalk” paint not because of its ingredients but for its matte finish, the product enables DIY types to refinish furniture without stripping, sanding or varnishing, and “it adheres to just about anything,” said Seaman. “Wood, metal, glass, plastic. All of a sudden, people are painting their leather sofas, painting their sneakers,” she said. “I paint my metal furniture outside with it.”
Seaman began selling Chalk Paint online four years ago, and later started offering it on the shelves at Byford & Mills in Little Silver. The Red bank store, she said, was one of the first three “stockists,” or retailers, of the Sloan line in the United States; there are now some 600. Seaman said she rented the space from the Dub’s owners not only for selling paint but for offering classes in the use of chalk paint, particularly for users interested in various effects that can be achieved by applying wax afterward.
Anyone can use the paint without training, said Seaman, who offers it in 31 colors at $37.50 per quart, enough to cover 150 square feet. It’s “great on ‘chippy’ furniture,” she adds, because it goes on thick enough to cover nicks and gouges.
Over at 27 Monmouth Street, formerly home to Wooly Monmouth, Ashley Santora, a 29-year-old entrepreneur, has opened Wayward & Co. Explorers, offering “curated” vintage clothing out front and hot yoga in a room out back.
“Our intention is to have a creative space where we find ourselves intrinsically involved,” said Santora, who works in New York’s diamond district by day and teaches the yoga classes at night and on weekends. “We are all about re-use, giving these pieces new life.”
Though she declined to identify the source or sources of the clothes for sale, Santora said the items are “hand-picked for the season” and feature labels such as Pendleton, Woolrich, Yves St. Laurent, Stella McCartney, and Prada. Prices range from $20 “into the hundreds,” said the Sayreville resident.
As for the yoga, that’s “about going on a journey and finding yourself again,” Santora said. “This is a temple, a sacred space, not just to find yourself physically, but mentally.”
Classes, offered three times a day, Monday through Thursday, are held in a room heated to about 98 degrees, The weekend schedule can be found at the website.
