Trove Paints The Towne

Stepping into Trove, Shoppe 9, by the lake in Historic Smithville, customers say they have a feeling of coming home, enjoying the cozy vibe and whimsical atmosphere, some saying they wish they could stay the night! Perhaps the reason is that Trove is truly a family affair – proprietors are mother, Dawn Dominick, and eldest daughter, Jenna Garey, and you will often see youngest daughter (and sister) Zoe helping out.

The historic building now home to Trove boasts a tall barrel ceiling, fitting since it was originally a German choir hall relocated from Cologne Avenue in Galloway Township (hence the “Leiderkranz Halle” sign atop the building) by Smithville Village founder Ethel Noyes many decades ago. Before opening their doors in March 2019, Dawn and Jenna undertook the task of refreshing the interior while preserving its original elements. Dawn and Jenna renewed the original hardwood flooring using their not-so-secret weapon: Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan. New additions are a custom-made wall display for housing paint cans backed by Jenna’s original artwork of colorful dripping paint behind a bespoke retail counter crafted by local carpenter, Mike Boback, whose clan has become part of the Trove family. Although they plan to keep updating the shoppe, the payoff so far has been a perfect backdrop to display their skillfully curated new, vintage, and original handcrafted items.

Dawn and Jenna were no strangers to shop renovation; this was the second Smithville home they created for Trove in just two years.

“In 2017 we started out in a smaller shoppe. Our husbands, Ray and Jeremy, sanded down the wood plank floors and exposed a lovely brick fireplace before adding shiplap to the walls,” Jenna said. “A year later a larger shoppe became available – we were sad to leave but felt we should make the move.”

Trove’s creative personality lent itself to Chalk Paint, so it was a very exciting moment when Trove was selected to carry Annie Sloan products. “Annie Sloan made our job of refinishing so much easier and less time consuming,” said Jenna. “It’s so user-friendly that it just made sense for us to become stockists so we could share this creative magic with our customers.”

Dawn and Jenna, like all Annie’s stockists, are given continuous training. One of the highlights of their retail experience was to enjoy several days of instruction with Annie Sloan herself, the creator of the revolutionary paint. This education and their natural ability enable them to offer painting workshoppes, up-to-date advice on techniques and color selection, and do commissioned painting, including kitchen cabinets. They offer free decorating consultations and recently were thrilled to take the job of renewing Jonathon Peter Photography’s studio, Trove’s neighbor.

After a few moments in the shoppe, you get a sense of a shared aesthetic with a blend of personality. Find your treasures, from hand-painted gourd snowmen, block-printed scarves, handcrafted jewelry and soaps sitting atop rustic and antique pieces, to tea and vintage glassware. Be treated on any given day to classical music or old-fashioned rock and roll; Jenna also likes to throw in some Disney tunes and Benny Goodman just to keep everyone on their toes.

About her mother Jenna said, “Mom is the Martha Stewart at life. While I was growing up, she was always creating, sewing, baking, decorating or gardening. She is always trying something new, so there’s always fresh pieces of hers in the shoppe – look for floral arrangements to embroidery to painted pieces.” Dawn says proudly of her daughter, “I saw incredible artistic ability from the time Jenna was a toddler. She won’t tell you, but she has done amazing portraits in oils, fantastic pen and ink drawings and everything in between.”

Both mom and daughter have career backgrounds in the legal field, but they found outlets for creativity by collaborating on event decorating, cookie making, furniture painting and more — always pining for a shoppe of their own. On a whim, they decided to add their names to a waiting list for Historic Smithville; two and a half years later they received notice of an available shoppe. It was a “now or never moment,” Jenna said, and in November of 2017, Trove was born.

Trove offers customers many affordable, one-of-a-kind alternatives to buying mass-produced and abundantly available products. In purchasing merchandise for the shoppe, the girls support other woman-owned businesses. Talented boutique owners Dawn and Jenna provide a welcoming, exciting place to come home to – Trove.