Adobe Stock/ New Africa
The Rivertowns have it good with the arrival of Falena, which supports women-founded brands in Westchester County.
A darling new jewelry store called Falena is set to soon open its doors in the suburban village of Irvington, and founder Nicole Vallario is excited to share her passion and products with the surrounding community.
Vallario, a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, explains that her reasoning behind opening a jewelry store is largely credited to her grandmother and her experience in the industry prior to embarking on this chapter in her life. “I grew up in lower Westchester County visiting my grandmother (and muse behind Falena) at Sterns…I always had a dream of creating my own brick-and-mortar space in the area…[I] interned at companies like Vogue and Betsey Johnson and spent 16 years in the wholesale sales industry to set me up for this journey.”
Providing a positive experience to her customers and the surrounding community is important to Vallario, one of her main goals being to give them “a destination where they can find unique and high-quality women-founded brands for themselves as a gift,” and explains that she “[finds] joy in making others feel good about their purchase.”
View this post on Instagram
The products sold at Falena will be catered around sharing women-founded designers’ work, according to Vallario. “My mission is to host women-founded designers and share their incredible work and exquisite high-end materials. There is an abundance of talented designers in the market.”
Bringing the jewelry store to life was inspired by Vallario’s modern-Victorian vision, and she describes the store as “inviting.” “Falena is in a building that dates back to 1905 with 100-plus-year-old dark, creaky, wood floors, wainscotting walls, and a tin ceiling. Restoring its character and decorating it with an imaginary wonderland floral print wallpaper…” all did their jobs in making Vallario’s dream ambiance a reality.
View this post on Instagram
To Vallario, jewelry plays a large role in expressing oneself and is one of the main reasons why she decided to open a jewelry store. “Jewelry is a way to express yourself and style that can be worn with anything from yoga pants or your finest evening attire. It has the power to make you feel polished and complete.”
Falena offers an array of items that are sure to captivate its customers. “We offer categories from fine jewelry, fashion jewelry, hand-blown glass vases from Italy, hats from France, silk scarves from Italy, bath and beauty products from Brooklyn, candles, and more.”
View this post on Instagram
When deciding on the location of Falena, Vallario emphasized the impact of the waterfront location and the people that make up its community. “I went to school in the Rivertowns starting from grammar school…I find there to be such beauty in the waterfront and people. Everyone has been so welcoming and excited for me and Falena.”
When looking into the future of Falena, Vallario is excited for “the energy and thrill around creating collaboration and community…there is an abundance of extremely talented brands from all categories that I aspire to bring into Falena to share with customers. I also foster trunk shows (pop-ups) monthly as a space for designers to test the market.”
Falena
51 Main Street, Irvington
Related: 6 Books With Westchester Ties for Your Summer Reading List
