Beautiful, Affordable Decor Awaits at Trove Design Shop
Trove Design Shop in historic Woodlawn offers beautiful, affordable gifts and home goods β and a strong sense of community, too!
When Trove Design Shop owner Karen Gathany looks for what products to put in her store, she has a checklist. Is the item handmade? Is it sustainably produced? Is it reasonably priced? Beautiful and practical? Would she give it as a gift to a friend or have it in her own home? Only the products that make it through Karenβs extensive checklist make it inside the four walls of her hip 830-square-foot space in Woodlawn.
βThere is a long list that determines if something is offered here,β Karen says. βThere is something for everyone, but it has to fit the aesthetic of what we carry in the store and be well-crafted and beautifully designed.β
Trove opened in mid-June and sells everything from home decor to jewelry, books, art, greeting cards and candles. This art- and design-focused gift and home goods shop reflects Karenβs love of goods that arenβt mass-produced, such as books β Karen calls herself a βbook nerdβ β and affordable art that is attainable for all, including college students and young professionals. Trove combats the misconception that beautiful decor must be pricey β the average price of an item at Trove is $30, with prices on items ranging from as low as $5 to only around $150. βThere is an expectation that handmade equals expensive,β Karen explains. βWe want to prove that you can buy handmade for a reasonable price.β
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Before opening Trove, Karen worked in print design and advertising for 10 years. During a period of her life that she calls a βself-discovery and self-exploration phase,β she questioned whether graphic design was the career she wanted to carry into the rest of her life. She considered going to graduate school but was inspired by travels to places like San Francisco, New York City, New Orleans, Atlanta and Nashville, where she found interesting boutiques that lit a fire inside of her. Many of the boutiques were part of the micro-retail movement β locations with minimal square footage and an intimate feel. Soon, she began talking to her friends about opening a shop of her own. βI talked to my friends about how cool it would be if I had a shop,β she tells us. βAnd they said βKaren, that sounds right up your alley. You could totally do that.ββ
Her vision was to bring an eclectic mix of handmade gifts β much like those sheβd seen on her travels β back to Birmingham. Though originally from Huntsville, Karen has lived in the Magic City for 11 years and considers it home now. βI knew Birmingham needed a place that sold creative gifts and that supported makers,β she says.
Karen, a maker herself, made it her mission that money spent at Trove would go directly back to the artists that made the goods sold at the shop. βEverything I do, other than books and antiques, benefits the maker and goes back into the pockets of other small business owners,β she explains.
Many of the products Karen sells are from local makers, but some are from pieces she was inspired by during her travels around the United States. There is also art from a maker in London, and jewelry from both London and Argentina. But the majority of the pieces are made all across the United States; Karen organically found them on Instagram. βWe have makers represented here who arenβt represented anywhere else in the state or even in the Southeast,β Karen tells us. βYouβll find things here that arenβt available anywhere else. Thereβs very little overlap with other stores, and thatβs intentional.β
When Karen decided that she wanted to open her own shop, she joined Create Birminghamβs CO.STARTERS, a nine-week business boot camp that helps aspiring entrepreneurs like her turn their ideas into action. This allowed her to gain valuable knowledge about starting her own business, she says. βI had no background in business, so it was a good thing to do,β Karen admits. βI never thought of myself as an entrepreneur.β
Soon after completing the program, she opened up a pop-up shop at Railroad Park for six weekends in late 2018. The response was positive, and her customers began asking her where her actual brick and mortar store was. βThere was enough of a positive response that I wanted to take the next step,β says. βAt the beginning of 2019, I knew I wanted to go fully into a brick and mortar space. The feel of the space was very important. Trove has high ceilings, exposed brick, big windows and a reclaimed wooden floor. It has character; I knew I needed that in my space. As visual of a store as Trove is, we couldnβt be in a basic white box.β
She was open to locations downtown or in Homewood, but through a friend, she found a landlord who had a space in Woodlawn. Karen, a fan of the Woodlawn Cycle CafΓ© and Club Duquette and familiar with the area, fell in love with the space the landlord showed her at 5532 First Avenue North.
Since its opening on June 22, Trove has been committed to not just selling goods but also becoming a community gathering space and a shop known for its outspoken support of the arts. Karen often hosts pop-up shops inside Trove for artists, where local makers can display their work free of charge. So far, she has hosted a different pop-up shop every Saturday for the past three months, ranging in scope from embroidery to stained glass, jewelry and artwork. βSupporting the arts is a huge part of what we want to do,β she says. βI have a huge heart for supporting artists, and itβs really important to me that we support creative passions.β
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Karen offers creative workshops in drawing, watercolor painting, hand lettering and art therapy for the public. The shop is also available to rent as an event space, and, in addition to pop-up shops, Trove can host bridal lunches, bachelorette parties and, in one instance, even hosted a concert. βWe want to be more than just a store,β she offers. βWe want to be a community gathering space.β
Nearly six months in, Karen can still remember when she had to drive to Atlanta to experience a boutique like the shop she now owns. βIt is exciting to bring something to Birmingham thatβs different than what the city already had,β she says. βWe are doing so well, and we hope to take in more vendors and stock more variety. But Iβm really enjoying where we are now.β
Trove Design Shop is open Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at (205) 390-6929 or online at trovebham.com.
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Rachel Burchfield
Rachel is a freelance writer, co-host of Podcast Royal, and the host of Iβd Rather Be Reading. When sheβs not working, you can find her at the spa.