International accent
Por favor, tome asiento.
Which, for those who took Spanish in high school, means, Please take a seat. And do so at Marzi”™s in the comfortable knowledge folks globally share both the need to relax and often enjoy their rest more with some style in the mix.
Marianne Peloquin, a furniture retail professional from Fairfield, has opened her own eclectic furniture store, Marzi”™s, in Seymour.
The culmination of eight years of dreaming for the Portuguese-born Peloquin, Marzi”™s is a collection of primarily handmade Mexican, Guatemalan and Peruvian home furnishings and accessories.
“I saw a need in the market for distinctive furniture and accessories for the style-conscious, yet down-to-earth home decorator,” said Peloquin. “My own need to decorate and create a unique, comfortable home environment with limited resources led me to the conclusion that design-savvy consumers are steering away from high-cost cookie-cutter options to seek more out-of-the-ordinary alternatives.”
The store is 1,500 square feet on Bank Street in downtown Seymour next to the Seymour Antique Company. MarziӪs is filled with intricately designed, handcrafted original pieces with many made from reclaimed woods. The store is filled with glassware, rugs and copper tables. Peloquin said her brainchild is an environment that combines the strengths of unusual, high-quality, timeless pieces to enhance home d̩cor on any budget.
“I was in the furniture business for a while and I really hated the quality of furniture, so I wanted to do something that wasn”™t the same, wasn”™t so cookie cutter, I wanted to do something different,” said Peloquin. “This is what I came up with. My furniture is mostly handmade, mostly reclaimed woods, old gates and doors are in a lot of the pieces. There are also some pieces from the Middle East. My store is a culminated collection of my thoughts. We have furniture you can pass down to your kids and can stay in families for generations. There”™s no pressed board; it”™s all real wood.”
Visitors to Marzi”™s can find imported pottery, handmade tin sconces and wrought-iron lamps, decorative pillows and area rugs, tabletop accessories and a variety of home-related gift items.
Peloquin had been dreaming of her own store for years, but after her husband died three years ago she really took her quest seriously. The store sports the slogan, “Furniture for the home that dares to be different,” and its Fairfield proprietor took that theme into account when choosing a location.
“It was time for me to go in my own direction and this was it,” said Peloquin. “I came down here to Seymour four years ago and loved it. It”™s a great area. I didn”™t want to be in a corporate setting. I wanted to be around other shop owners, I like the uniqueness of the town.”