Owner Ashley Belizze in her new boutique, NINE BY ASH. | Photo by Sergio Rangel, courtesy of NINE BY ASH
Gather and NINE BY ASH are the new, specialized boutiques in Katonah that can transport shoppers to faraway places beyond Westchester.
Want to be transported to the beach without leaving Northern Westchester? Or how about a lodge in Wyoming or Utah? Two new Katonah stores, both opened late last year, are offering curated collections that you’ll want for your home or yourself.
Suzanne Martin headed women’s clothing store Ruby Sue’s for 22 years before opening home-decor store Gather (159 Katonah Ave) next door. “I’ve gone from bringing style and luxury to women’s fashion to offering style and luxury for the home,” she says. The store’s clean and minimalist interior mirrors the items sold there. “I was looking to combine a seaside village with a Scandinavian visual,” Martin says. The palette here consists of calming nudes and whites — whether the items are locally made, one-of-a-kind pottery, serving bowls, throws and pillows, or great-smelling-and-looking Gather candles, made by Martin’s daughter Autumn, who is the store’s manager. “I wanted to create a space where people can find objects, whether they be functional or decorative, that evoke summers by the beach,” Martin says. She notes that in Northern Westchester, known for its horse farms, the furnishings have skewed darker and heavier. “Over the past year, as we saw an influx of residents move here from New York City, I thought there’d be a market for a store with a minimal aesthetic.”
The tone is set outside NINE BY ASH (119 Katonah Ave), with a wooden sign sporting a branded horseshoe. Owner Ashley Belizze, who has a background in the local retail scene as a manager and stylist, has created a store that she describes as “West Coast-meets-true-American grit.” To underscore the point, the store’s decor includes a print of an American flag, along with Navajo prints, cacti and other succulents, and leather and suede furnishings and clothing. Primarily a men’s clothing store, NINE BY ASH also offers women’s accessories such as authentic cowboy (or girl) boots and leather belts. Also available are home and jewelry items. The colors and textures in the store — both in the furnishings displaying the wares and the items themselves — speak to a rugged time with a modern sensibility. Belizze says the look and smell of NINE BY ASH (candles and colognes) is appealing to both men and women. “We have a denim shirt that is flying out of the store; men wear them, and women are wearing them as oversized tops or as shackets.”
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