Ellen: I’m originally from Williamsburg area of the Great Vommonwealth of Virginia. But as my mother is from Rhode Island, we returned to Narragansett and Providence when I was young. I moved to New York over 22 years ago and have lived in Bedford area (Pound Ridge) for 19 years. My family moved to Greenwich last year when my daughter started 2nd grade at Eagle Hill. My daughter, Nellie, is almost 9 (going on 29).
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
I try to meditate up to 2 hours daily. I was pretty good about getting my time in until the pace reached break-neck speed to get Montepicaza Greenwich open. Being still, quieting the external noise, listening to my own voice, reaching a state where discernment happens changed the trajectory of my life. Realizing a life-long dream to open a store happened because I was open and prepared when I got lucky enough to stumble upon this opportunity. From the first idea to doors being opened took only 6 months. Sometimes that surprises me!
Anyone special you’d like to thank for helping you through parenthood?
Nellie’s dad Charlie Reid is an extraordinary father and kind and reliable partner. Parenting is the hardest job. I hope we always try to make it a little easier for each other.
Favorite things to do with your kids?
We love to read. Also, we love to tell stories. Nellie names an age or grade and I have to come up with a story. It’s such a gift to be asked to go back and not only remember but to dig out the real stuff of which memories are made. Sometimes I’m shocked by what and how much I can recall about a particular time or event that I haven’t thought of in years.
We also love to sing and listen to music. And just cuddle.
Please tell us about your new business venture!
Montepicaza Greenwich is the debut of a well-known stylish brand of clothing from Spain, made with few exception in Spain. I always wanted to a have a store that offered discerning clients something special and different from what they could get everywhere else in the American market. A chance conversation with one of my dearest and oldest friends from Spain led to a plane ride to Toledo Spain and the opportunity of a life-time: to introduce to the US market in stores and on-line this beautiful and innovative brand, which has sought to revive the artisanal textile industry in Spain.
I’m also pleased to have begun the membership process to the Greenwich BNI chapter, an organization that has brought so many competent, passionate, and caring fellow entrepreneurs into my professional and personal circle.
How has this community been instrumental in getting you to where you are now?
Well, Greenwich is an extraordinary place for all the typical and obvious reasons. Having said that it has offered my family a real sense of community and belonging that we NEVER felt in our small Westchester town. I have become part of a group of fellow mothers who care about and support each other; they are a group of real women who are mothers, wives, sometimes ex-wives, who may or may not have had and continue to have ” professions outside the home”, who understand that we all struggle, we try, we intend, and sometimes we fall-short but that we are ok. There’s no judgement just lots of support. Those ladies know who they are. I’m so grateful to them and to our community!
