Mia’s Fashion & Home Boutique continues legacy under creator’s goddaughter – Biz Beat

“I remember her so well and [she was] so welcoming when I came in, sometimes to just visit,” one message says. “She was always so bubbly.”

The wall, like the store, is an ode to founder Mia Jones, said store manager Karen Rosa.

Jones, who passed in 2020, started the store with the goal of giving people in Ballston Spa and surrounding communities an alternative to fast fashion.

In 2022, Jones’ goddaughter Elena Wise reopened the business, bringing her own style but keeping the same spirit Jones had.

“Our goal is to source clothes made from sustainable materials from small companies that are mostly women-owned,” Wise said in a press release. “We support artisans in the U.S. and around the world by offering hand-crafted products. Many of the global brands that we carry give back to the local women’s co-ops and communities they’re based in.”

In October, 5% of the total sales for the month went to Wellspring of Saratoga County.

Rosa said Wise is currently in Europe finishing a master’s degree. Rosa also said that Wise’s perspective of thrifting items and curating pieces to live a more sustainable lifestyle is one reason she works at the store.

“I started this year and I wanted to further curate that echelon of what we carry,” Rosa said. “So rather than just taking anything and everything and keeping it out of the landfill, I wanted to curate it more and have like, Coach bags and Michael Kors and suede and like 100% cotton and denim. Rather than just keeping things out of the landfill and having like secondhand Walmart stuff, I really want something that someone is going to have, it’s going to be unique in their closet and it’s going to really amplify their everyday wardrobe.”

The store features various pieces of thrifted clothing, unique rugs from Morocco and home decor. Rosa said Wise finds items to sell from her trips overseas.

More recently the business began selling items online and sales overall for the store have been going well, tripling from last year, Rosa said.

She said the best part of the store is not only hearing from people who knew Jones and know Wise but meeting new people and seeing them fall in love with the store.

“There are often times where I’m alone and the store is covered in people. There are men sitting there on the chairs and on the couch waiting for their wives, and there’s girls coming in having coffee dates,” the manager said. “It’s so awesome to see the difference just like the demographic of people that come in here from teen girls, that come in from right out from high school, or all the way to the college girls, all the way to older women.”