New Business Lands In Monterey

It’s always good to see a new business opening on Main Street in Monterey, and I spoke with the proprietor of a recently opened establishment.

“I am Jennifer Warner Cox, I am a Highland county native. However, I have been out of county for 23 years, in Northern Virginia, and just moved back with my husband, who is close to being a native – I guess he came in sixth grade. But we are back and happy to be home and have family close by.”

“So it has always been a dream of mine to have my own antiques and vintage store. And when we came back, I decided it was now or never. It was the perfect time to actually make that dream come true. My mother and I owned the building where my shop is now, and all these years I have been looking at that building with this vision in mind of what I could have – and I’m going for it!”

“The name is Jenny Wren Gatherings, and my daughter is actually named Carolina Wren. Also, in certain areas, they call Carolina wrens, Jenny wrens, and since my name is Jennifer, it seemed to be just one of those names that went together.”

She continued, “The Gathering part is for two reasons. One being, I like to think of myself as gathering all these wonderful things that are going to be in the shop. But also, I hope to have a space eventually where we could have gatherings and events. I’d like to host classes and
all sorts of different things to bring the community together.”

When I mentioned that wrens were my grandfather’s favorite bird, she noted another aspect which makes the name appropriate.

“They’re known to be very busy and also very chatty, and my daughter is exactly like that.”

She talked about her gatherings so far.

“Overall, I like to tell people that when you walk into my door, I hope you think that you are walking into your grandparents, your great-grandparents, the great aunt’s house. I love things that connects to where we live, so you will see quilts, and crocks, and lots of vintage kitchen items. There will also be books. I love books, I like buying books. So a lot of things that connect to the local area as well.”

I asked if consignment items were being accepted.

“At this point, I’m not doing any consignments – I need to get myself off the ground. Phase two, I think I want to bring in local artists’ work, and then phase three may involve some consignment. In the meantime, I tend to buy a lot of things at auction and when I go for a day of picking. But if you have some things that you might be interested in selling, I’m more than willing to come take a look, or bring them by the shop and see if we can come up with something that’s mutually agreeable.”

And where should they bring those items?

“We are located at 81 Main Street, which is right next to High’s Restaurant and across from The Highland Inn.”

For more information…

“We do have a Facebook – it’s Jenny Wren Gatherings. I will also be having an Instagram at the same, Jenny Wren Gatherings. And eventually there will be a website, but I don’t have that yet.”

She invited people to fly in for a visit.

“I would love for people to just come by and stop in and say hi, and get some feedback from you of what I have. If there’s things that you think I should have in the store, I would welcome all your insights. But I like to see people, so stop by – say hi.”