It may sound like the pitch for the next reality TV show: four women, three businesses, one location. But where “trashy TV” capitalizes on melodrama, this cadre of entrepreneurs is building success and living their dreams from the shared foundation of one key aspect: love of Tiverton Four Corners. From opening an independent bookstore to curating a vintage lifestyle brand to a mainstay expanding into home goods, for this group, harmonizing business and community is all part of the job.
Before she began an indie bookstore venture, Jai-Lee Egna lived in New York and built a career in the commercial photography industry. “My partner and I fell in love with Tiverton and the area, and purchased a historic home in 2018,” she recalls. Still, Egna “longed for a bookstore and space to meet neighbors and new friends – a space with art, interesting books, and a feeling of community as well as a place to learn and share information.” As she nurtured this dream, she heard from friends and neighbors wanting more connection and gathering spots. So when the Benjamin F. Seabury House was made available – the same building that held the town library for a brief moment in the mid-1800s – she took a leap and opened The Yellow House in December 2024.
“It’s no secret that running a brick-and-mortar bookshop in the age of Amazon is a risky prospect,” Egna hedges, but a couple months into the business and the community has rallied around the space. Visitors can find titles based on her interests, new releases, and older books based on input and observations. “It’s been fun getting to know the community through their taste in books,” she explains, noting that sales have shown a “strong interest in nature and science writing, and new fiction.” Watch for events, talks, and workshops, a used book area, and seating with wine and snacks. 3842 Main Road, TheYellowHouseRI.com
Bunny Gold and Emma Kunz had both been moonlighting as merchants of vintage clothing and homewares for a few years at flea markets in the area. A serendipitous conversation at the Providence Flea revealed a mutual love for antiquing, collecting vintage, slow living by the ocean, surfing, and the desire to open a store based on those values. Gold grew up in Providence around the city’s flea markets during the ‘90s, where her mom kept a weekend stand. She says the “culturally diverse picking paradise” gave her a sharp eye for spotting the best goods, and an appreciation for vintage. Kunz, also a Rhode Island native, grew up playing “store” in an artistic household, selling found objects and antiques with a Barbie cash register. After pursuing a career in marketing, and then reselling and researching homewares, finding a business partner in Gold felt like kismet.
The women reconnected after a space freed up in Tiverton Four Corners, and enrolled in EforAll Rhode Island, a business accelerator program, to bring their shop, Cabana Collective, to life. Known for its artist community, antiques, and charm, Four Corners was the perfect space for their vision. Open since November 2024, the shop has shown a collection of 13 vendors, chosen for how they align with the “Cabana lifestyle” and as a way to collaborate with and bolster the community of vintage dealers and artisans the pair already belonged to. Together, they have artfully assembled a shopping experience that emphasizes sustainability, community, and coastal charm through rediscovered clothing, homewares, objects, and artisan-made goods from rotating vendors. 31 East Road, Cabana-Co.com
A long-standing member of the Tiverton community, Sayles Livingston is expanding her entrepreneurial reach. Known for Sayles Livingston Properties, her real estate firm, and Sayles Livingston Design, her event design business, she is now launching Sayles Livingston HOME, a retail store focused on furniture, antiques, home decor, and gifts. Opening in early spring this year in the space formerly occupied by The Cottage, HOME will have an in-store “interactive” design center for clients to see how different fabrics – from rugs to couches – would work in a space. Sayles’ eye is trained on high-quality pieces, but also affordability.
Shoppers will find pieces that are colorful and “sensory.” Although she hesitates to confine herself within any theme, clients will find pieces that call out to botanical and coastal styles, which blend Sayles’ masters degree in entomology with the beauty of the farm coast. Despite the takeover of The Cottage, she stresses that customers who loved that store will still be able to get the same or similar pieces at HOME, and by reinventing the shop, she is not tearing down that part of the community; on the contrary, her mission is to carry on the history and legacy of a beloved former store while mixing it with her own creative spirit. 3847 Main Road, SaylesLivingstonDesign.com
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here