10 Questions For......Christine Edmonds of trove

Christine Edmonds, Meg Newell, and Rebecca Bancroft of trove

How Did You Get Into The Business?
Meg, Rebecca and I all live within a few blocks of each other in a sweet town called Newtown. We knew each other casually from neighborhood parties, discovered a mutual love of home furnishings, vintage items, flea markets and wanted a fun job with a lot of flexibility. Meg has four children, Rebecca three, and I have 2.

Business Name Inspiration?
All of the things we had gathered were a treasure trove of fabulous updated vintage pieces. Treasure trove sounds a little goofy, so we simplified it to just trove.

Favorite Blogs/Websites You Regularly Follow?
Decorno, Apartment Therapy (they did a nice bit on us, but of course that has nothing to do with the fact that we like them). I would like to list a lot more, but we are so busy shopping/sanding/priming/painting/promoting and thinking of what the heck is for dinner that we don't have time to read many blogs. We are all pretty excited when our Elle Decor arrives in the mail, and were pretty sad when Domino folded.

Favorite Designers?
Kelly Wearstler, Darryl Carter, Windsor Smith

Favorite Piece in Your Own Home?
My green chenille sofa. When my husband and I were furniture shopping, we laughed out loud when we saw it..... it is curvy and huge and the size of a twin bed.... who would buy something so monstrous? Then we sat in it and giggled and then we bought it. It is like having an extra guest bed in the living room, it is so comfy and long. If you are under 6 feet tall you have to take off your shoes and put your feet up.  It requires a commitment.

How Would You Describe Your Personal Style?
Eclectic vintage/modern American. Maybe I should add "sporty". Since Thanksgiving my dining room has been a ping pong table. When a damask tablecloth is on it, you really can't tell!

Top 3 Desert Island Necessities?
Fully loaded iPod, with lots of Dr. Dog and Citizen Cope. Rebecca's Kindle with 1000 books loaded on it and a few cases of unoaked chardonnay. And I would really like to bring my husband- he is great company.

Future Plans for Your Business?
We want to establish stronger relationships with the design community. We find amazing pieces every day. Just today I bought a huge free standing old-school blackboard with oak framing and a regency white marble-topped round cocktail table. We really try to buy only what we love. I am headed to a month of Austrian/French flea markets in July. I'll go with empty suitcases and a lot of hope. We'd also like to figure out where to store all of our treasures so Meg's husband can get to his lawnmower without moving 20 bureaus. I just read that Kelly Wearstler has a 10,000 square foot warehouse. That upset me tremendously. Why can't WE have that???

Why Participate in Clover Market?
We already know and love all of our Newtown friends/ neighbors..... how many adorable small chairs or alabaster lamps does one need? We wanted to reach out and meet some new friends who are 30-40-50 minutes away. We are a great weekend destination as our town is historic- and we have great restaurants, clothing shops and farm markets. We are also open by appointment, so people sometimes grab some friends, hop in the car and visit. Last week a couple from California came. They were staying in Philadelphia, saw the article in Philadelphia Magazine and drove up to see us. They bought small unbreakable things that would fit in their suitcase.

Fantasy Purchase (e.g. if I had unlimited funds, I'd...)?
I would love 2 of the Arne Jacobsen egg chairs. My husband and I were in the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen last year, and it is littered with dozens of them. They were designed in the late 50s but look very hip and they are comfortable, a fact that many people (including myself) often forget when selecting a chair. Probably in black leather so they would last forever.

Finally, how can people find you?
We are in Cape May at West End Garage. We designed the living room at the Princeton Designer House - open 'til May 23rd. We have a big barn sale coming up May 21-22-23 and we'll be back at Clover Market on June 6th. Best bet is to go to our website and sign up to get our monthly emails or become a fan on Facebook. If you hate email, you could just look at our home page now and then...all the info is there.