'The world was blowing up': COVID made dreams come true for artisans at Asbury Park shop
ASBURY PARK - Melissa Nikosey was flattened by COVID once again last winter when her real estate agent called her about a vacant storefront on Cookman Avenue that sounded like a too-good-to-be-true spot for a business she had in mind.
The virus was taking a toll. For months, she could barely get out of bed. And she couldn't smell a thing. But she was running out of money, so she mustered the energy, signed a lease, and made the jump.
"I was (thinking), 'This is it, I have to do it,'" Nikosey, 41, of Marlboro, said.
Nikosey has launched Boho House, a store that sells home decor and accessories, and it comes with a twist: It showcases a surging number of local female artisans, giving them physical space to sell their crafts.
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The new store in the heart of Asbury Park's shopping district is part of what one observer described as "pandemic businesses" that trace their start to the surreal days of the COVID lockdown, when workers had plenty of time to pursue ideas that they had long thought about.
"They might have had side-hustles or something like that, or maybe they had lost their job," said Danny Croak, partner with Fresh Markets, a company that hosts pop-up markets for artisans in Asbury Park, Holmdel, Red Bank and Upper Freehold Township.
Boho House has lined up about a dozen artists, who will take turns every six to eight weeks displaying their products on the shelves, splitting at least part of the sale with Nikosey.
'I'm going to bet on myself'
Among them is Taryn Sproviero, a long-time friend of Nikosey who left her corporate executive job last December to focus on a passion she had cultivated since she was a child: making luxury candles held in vintage vessels.
Sproviero, 40, of Brick, was an ecommerce expert who had her own pandemic tale. Her company saw sales spike as consumers began shopping online, but instead of being energized by her success, she began to burn out. Her husband noticed she wasn't happy and suggested she quit.
"I'm, like, 'You know what? He's right. I'm going to bet on myself,'" Sproviero said. She turned her attention to her candle-making business, called WickCraft Candle Co. "But honestly, Melissa was a huge part of my decision because I'm watching her and watching what she's doing … and it gives you your own confidence."
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Nikosey grew up in Toms River and went to college at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, where she studied broadcast journalism. After graduating, she took a job at the Asbury Park Press selling digital advertising for four years until she was laid off in 2010 during the Great Recession.
She decided she enjoyed the personal relationships she made in sales, but didn't like knocking on doors. She eventually switched gears. She moved to Brooklyn and went to work for a marketing company setting up live events for clients such as Coca Cola and Captain Morgan.
When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, though, Nikosey was hit hard. She contracted the disease in one of the early waves. And, with the live event industry at a standstill, she was laid off.
Like other New Yorkers, she decided to flee the city and moved back to New Jersey.
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'I'm tired of being disposable'
"At that point, the world was blowing up," she said. "I gave up my apartment. I moved home to my parents because I wanted to get out of the city. And I just thought to myself, 'I'm tired of being disposable. Every time something big happens, I'm worried about losing my job and how I'm going to pick myself up and figure it out again.'"
Nikosey, who still has yet to regain her smell, began to recover. She brainstormed ideas with a friend for her next venture and thought back to a job she truly enjoyed: working at Island Dress in Lavallette when she was in high school.
She decided to start her own accessory business online and named it Boho House with the idea of bringing together bohemian female artists and customers. The retailer started small, buying from about 15 vendors and quickly selling out.
But Nikosey missed the personal interaction. In 2022, she set up a table at Asbury Fresh, the artisans' market, as a test run on whether the business would flourish in a brick-and-mortar store. The business thrived, convincing her that when it came to home décor, customers prefer to see, smell and feel it.
Nikosey started searching for space, but ran into one more hurdle: another bout with COVID that she thinks she contracted at an Elton John concert and left her bed-ridden for six months. Her symptoms were hanging on last November when her real estate agent called with a perfect spot: 450 square feet on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, near other boutiques, art galleries and antique stores.
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No going back
Nikosey weighed her options — devote her time to the store or, as she put it, "go back to corporate America and be miserable for the rest of my life" — and decided to sign a lease. Boho House officially opened in March.
With it, the store became the latest business to graduate from a Fresh Market to a permanent store, Croak said, joining merchants such as Frank's Market & Refillery in Asbury Park, Lovelight Homemade Candle in Bradley Beach and Velvet Boutique at Bell Works in Holmdel.
More artisans are on the way, Croak said. Fresh Market is starting weekly markets this summer on Thursday nights in Red Bank.
Nikosey is gearing up for the summer while shuffling between doctors' visits to help recover from COVID. It's no small matter; she's working with Sproviero on a signature candle for the store. It would be nice if she could benefit from the scent.
Maybe one day. For now, she appears to be touching a chord with female aritsts.
"I am surprised that there's been so many women who are so excited to just participate," Nikosey said. "They're not scared. They're, like, 'Yes, here's my merchandise. Do with it what you will.' They're just so excited to have an opportunity and to be able to do what they want to do."
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Boho House in Asbury Park sells crafts from female artisans
