When Gabriela Anastasio started her luxury home goods business out of her living room three years ago, she said never could have imagined opening up a showroom at a popular outdoor shopping mall. But after years of finding an “amazing community” in Connecticut, Anastasio said she is opening the doors to her first showroom at The Shops at Farmington Valley in Canton next month. The home accessories store has signed a one-year lease to occupy the former J Crew space near Sur La Table.
The planned opening is made possible by the The Shops’ small business incubator team. “For select shorter-term deals we are able to utilize our Retail Experience and Incubation team, who specialize is helping small to medium size brands with the process of opening a brick and mortar location,” said Liz Ackerman, general manager at The Shops at Farmington Valley. “They offer additional support from interior concepting and window graphics design to overall operational milestone management,” Ackerman said.
“Their goal is to make what can sometimes be an overwhelming process feel less overwhelming.” Gabriela Anastasio’s business, Anastasio Home , is a producer of limited-run home accessories and upcycled luxury goods with a focus on stone, she said. “It seemed like just moments ago that we moved Anastasio Home out of my living room and into its first studio,” Anastasio said.
“This month, we will get the keys to our first flagship showroom in the posh Farmington Valley of Connecticut. Overwhelmed and electrified all at once, I never thought stress could be enjoyed this much.” Anastasio said she built the home accessory brand based off her passion for stone.
The products also can now be found in retailers such as Moda Operandi, Lulu and Georgia, and EyeSwoon. Growing up on Long Island with Italian immigrant parents, Anastasio said, her father started a stone business that sparked a lifelong passion. Anastasio said stone has always represented something special to her.
“I was always obsessed with stone,” Anastasio said. “Because growing up, every important milestone was defined by a new marble countertop or travertine floor. Every Italian American on Long Island would upgrade their lifestyle in the form of stone.
So if I saw someone putting in new granite or marble, I always thought life was going well for them. So stone became this pervasive theme in my life.” But her path to opening her own business took a circuitous route, she said.
She had pursued a degree in art and then spent more than a decade as director of communications at Tudor, a watch brand owned by Rolex. After living in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan with her fiancée, she bought a house in Torrington in 2017. After a time of using the house as a midway point between New York City and family in Maine, the couple decided to move permanently to Torrington in 2021, she said.
“This area became a saving grace during the pandemic and also so much more affordable for us,” Anastasio said. “We thought it would be a temporary move, but we ended up staying and finding a community here.” Anastasio Home started out with a focus on stone trays but has since expanded to several other items, she said, noting the plan is to expand into new categories, including metals and lighting.
All of the items are manufactured in India, with some items featuring more rare stones. Custom items can be requested, according to Anastasio. “Because we will have a larger space, we will be selling furniture as well,” Anastasio said.
“We will be selling stone furniture we manufacture like some marble tables and coffee tables. But we will also sell furniture from other brands in the store as well.” The opening of Anastasio Home follows several new additions to the outdoor mall, including Warby Parker and Sweetgreen, both coming soon to the former Coldwater Creek space.
“We met with Gabriela and the more we started to talk about it, we realized that the interior design business is something that is exciting to us,” Ackerman said. “We think that it ties in really well with our community.” The Shops at Farmington Valley is an open-air shopping area of shops and restaurants, including Sur La Table, Barnes and Noble, Mercato Italian Kitchen and Bar, Woofgang Bakery and Grooming, Sephora, Dicks Sporting Goods, ShopRite and more.
It’s on Route 44 in Canton, just over the Avon and Simsbury town lines. Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected].
