Business

New Canaan Woman Launches ‘Posh,’ a High-End Consignment Shop Downtown

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The idea for a high-end consignment shop had been percolating in recent years for New Canaan’s Christine Knox. 

She’d always liked beautiful things and—after earning a bachelor’s degree in art history at Skidmore College and a master’s in art history from Williams College—she went to work for about six years in the field of art, through museums and at Christie’s Auction House. “I’ve always been interested in the art field—everywhere I traveled, I could always go to museums and look at everything,” Knox told NewCanaanite.com on Tuesday morning from a desk at the rear of Posh Home Décor Consignment at 33 East Ave. “I have everything here from—right over my shoulder is a 16th century Italian etching, which is very famous—everything from antiques to contemporary things. I vet things extremely carefully when they come in so that everything is sort of unique, different and good prices. Very marketable prices.

Business

Retired NCPS Teacher Launches ‘LB Education & Life Coaching’

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The idea for a business that helped kids solve problems came to LB Reddington five years ago. A teacher in New Canaan Public Schools for nearly three decades before retiring last year, Reddington had spent most of her career as a fifth-grade science teacher at Saxe Middle School, also teaching third- and-fourth graders at West School, and sixth-graders at Saxe. During that time, Reddington took professional and personal pride in helping kids solve problems, far beyond just content delivery. “Their management and their organization, and trying to draw their strengths out—you’re working in so many different supports for the kids,” Reddington said during an interview at New Canaan Library on a recent morning. “I enjoy bringing pieces together and solving problems and seeing that growth and success.”

Seeking to use what she gleaned in her 28-year career, Reddington last year launched LB Education & Life Coaching.

Business

Sculptor Opens ‘Refine Design 3D’ Studio and Gallery on Pine Street

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For Derek Uhlman, a sculptor of 40-plus years’ experience, computer-aided design or “CAD” technology has dramatically changed the artist’s ability to visualize ideas and make them a reality. A Michigan native who trained as an apprentice under Reuben Nakian and earned his first major commission in 1982 from the General Food Corporation (a 37,000-pound marble sculpture), Uhlman also acknowledges that 3D design and fabrication also have “accelerated the design and visualization process, so an idea can form much quicker.”

“There are aesthetic struggles in the fine arts,” Uhlman told NewCanaanite.com on Monday afternoon. “One of the things about 3D printed objects is that they are geometrically perfect because the CAD system is very, very precise. Thousandths of an inch or thousandths of a millimeter if you want it to be. One of the beauties of a handmade artwork is its handmade characteristics.

Who Knew: Taking the Eight Sandwich Challenge

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‘Who Knew?’ is sponsored by Walter Stewart’s Market. Once upon a time, men dressed like Cary Grant, and sandwiches were what people ate for lunch. From kindergarten classrooms to corporate boardrooms, one could observe people at midday consuming an ingeniously portable combination of ‘bread’ and ‘things.’ There was an order to life, and while I’m not suggesting that correlation is causation, it’s worth noting that, back when we all ate sandwiches, nobody wore Celtics jerseys on airplanes or flossed their teeth on the subway. 



Perhaps it’s a profusion of choice–granted, much of it positive and health-minded—that’s gotten us away from such norms. Kindergarteners, if Instagram is to be believed, now dine on elaborate bento boxes of hand-shelled edamame, hummus, and gluten-free, organic pretzels. Office folks can now Uber Eats an uninspired hexagonal tub from Sweetgreen, undertip the guy in the lobby, and sprint back to volley emails into oblivion. 

It’s also the sandwich’s fault, or at least the modern fast-casual incarnation of the sandwich’s fault, that our ardor for a handheld square of lunchtime bliss has cooled. Have you ever been to a Panera?

Business

Migoto Boba Tea Marks One Year on Main Street

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Migoto Boba Tea is not Amanda Cui’s first business venture, but so far, it has been her most popular. 

Cui first entered New Canaan’s competitive retail scene back in 2016 with Funky Monkey, which she described as a “high-end kids’ store,” but decided to shut the business down as the COVID-19 pandemic approached, just two years after it opened. 

Last August, Migoto first opened its doors at 168 Main St. across from the New Canaan Library, and since then it has found itself many regular customers. Cui attributed the success to the “artificial free” ingredients used by the store. “Everything is real fruits, real ingredients,” she said. “The customers keep coming back, they stick with the same drink, they like it so much.”

A former New York City resident, Cui moved to New Canaan with her family eight years ago, seeking as safe as possible an environment for her children.