“I remember her so well and [she was] so welcoming when I came in, sometimes to just visit,” one message says. “She was always so bubbly.” The wall, like the store, is an ode to founder Mia Jones, said store manager Karen Rosa.
Jones, who passed in 2020, started the store with the goal of giving people in Ballston Spa and surrounding communities an alternative to fast fashion. In 2022, Jones’ goddaughter Elena Wise reopened the business, bringing her own style but keeping the same spirit Jones had. “Our goal is to source clothes made from sustainable materials from small companies that are mostly women-owned,” Wise said in a press release.
“We support artisans in the U.S. and around the world by offering hand-crafted products.
Many of the global brands that we carry give back to the local women's co-ops and communities they’re based in.” In October, 5% of the total sales for the month went to Wellspring of Saratoga County. Rosa said Wise is currently in Europe finishing a master’s degree.
Rosa also said that Wise’s perspective of thrifting items and curating pieces to live a more sustainable lifestyle is one reason she works at the store. “I started this year and I wanted to further curate that echelon of what we carry,” Rosa said. “So rather than just taking anything and everything and keeping it out of the landfill, I wanted to curate it more and have like, Coach bags and Michael Kors and suede and like 100% cotton and denim.
Rather than just k.
