The idea of setting up her boutique women’s fitness wear shop in a New Canaan storefront had appealed to Maxine Berg since she launched Jade as a trunk show business a few years ago.
Jade owner Maxine Berg started moving into the space at 7 Elm St. on Friday and officially opened for business on Tuesday. Credit: Michael Dinan
This week—after more than 18 months in neighboring Darien, though never abandoning the New Canaan goal—Berg finally saw her longtime vision materialize.
“It’s very exciting,” Berg, a Wilton resident, said hours into the first official day of business for Jade in its new, well-lit space at 7 Elm St.
“This is where I wanted to be from the beginning, so to actually be here it’s like, ‘We did it,’ ” a smiling Berg said as some of her very earliest customers perused high-end fitness wear on display in built-in and custom racks across the floor. “We got here and quicker than I thought we would. Even over the last few days of moving in, I love the community. I love the street. The people can be so friendly. My neighbors on the street are introducing themselves. It’s the right place for Jade.”
Inside the newest business on Elm Street, Jade is a boutique women’s active wear shop. Credit: Michael Dinan
It’s a town that Berg knows well. A former commercial litigation and real estate attorney who lives in Wilton, Berg launched Jade after raising three kids (her youngest entering his freshman year at Wilton High School). Many of her customers at the Darien shop had been New Canaanites. Last month marked the fourth New Canaan Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale that where Berg set up a booth for Jade, a member of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce.
“The Sidewalk Sale was excellent,” she said, echoing many. “We were consistnetly busy all day, it was our best New Canaan Sidewalk Sale.”
Built-in racks at Jade at 7 Elm St. The shop opened this week. Credit: Michael Dinan
The shop includes changing rooms and offers performance fabrics and styles for active women—including yoga, spinning, tennis, running—as well as jackets, cardigans, wraps, long sleeve tees, tanks, cargos and dresses.
The white, brightly lit space is important because it shows the color and fabrics well, Berg said.
Right now, several items are from this past season are on sale and more inventory is arriving daily, she said.
Berg closed the Darien shop Thursday and, even over the weekend as she was in the process of moving into Elm, she had customers popping in to check out Jade.
As with many of the independent businesses that New Canaan supports, Jade’s owner (Berg) will be on site. She will operate the business with two staff members, and Jade’s hours right now are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Here’s where Jade is located: