Nouveau Boutique home to Madison jeweler: Reina Hope creates handmade jewelry
Reina Hope, owner of Nouveau Boutique in Madison, has a simple solution for a common wardrobe dilemma.
“I like the way a new necklace can make an old dress look really good,” Hope said.
Hope makes jewelry that she sells from her shop at Hope Studios, located in the former Garfield School building at 211 SE 4th St.
Quartz and apatite are some of Hope’s favorite stones to work with. She also likes using metals such as sterling, gold and handmade antique African brass beads. Hope said she is starting to learn silversmithing.
Besides her own jewelry, Hope consigns work with other artists to sell at Nouveau Boutique.
“I try to get an eclectic mix (of artists) and if they’re from Madison, that’s even better,” Hope said.
The shop offers handmade or very unique items, she said, like soaps, perfumes, handbags, beads and vintage articles. Hope makes custom jewelry pieces as requested by patrons as well.
Hope, a 1996 alumna of Madison High School, worked as a manager in a Minneapolis bead store for five years.
“That’s where I fell in love with beadwork,” Hope said.
This self-taught jeweler likes to know a stone’s cut, what country it came from and where it was mined.
Hope is attracted to jewelry’s versatility and how two people can create distinctive items even if they work with the same materials.
Hope and her husband, Michael, bought the old school building in 2004. They wanted a space where they could live with their son and work on their crafts.
“I’ve been able to maintain a studio in here and have a good customer base that come back to see me,” Hope said.
Nouveau Boutique is the main business at Hope Studios currently, she said, but it has housed dance and yoga classes, photography and other art retail shops. They have held workshops in the past, Hope said. Her husband, who is also from Madison, ran a stained-glass window business in the old gym, but he now owns a multi-media business. She said they have two or three studio spaces available and the gym can be rented for events.
“We’re really happy with it. We’ve been able to do a lot of different things and be accessible to a lot of people,” she said of Hope Studios. “We like the potential.”
Hope is developing a Web site for Nouveau Boutique that she plans to complete by the end of the year.
Nouveau Boutique is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment. Hope can be contacted at 256-3081.
Hope will host an open house at Nouveau Boutique Sept. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. as a part of the Madison Area Arts Council Chautauqua Series.
MAAC meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Madison Public Library. The public is invited to attend. Visit the MAAC Web site at www.madisonareaartscouncil.org for more community art news and events.
From Madison Daily Leader, September 2, 2009
