The idea came to him in a dream. What was the idea you may be asking? To open up an antique store somewhere on the East Coast.
So that is exactly what Jack Davidson did and as of Nov. 18, his store Trove has been open making that one dream of his come to life. Trove is an antique, fine art and garden store on Washington Street.
“I dreamt that I was on the coast, I thought it was Maine in the dream, and I had a shop in a white wooden building,” Davidson said. “So a friend of mine and I went up to Maine, and we went up and down the coast of Maine and I didn’t find that so I said, okay, it’s not Maine.”
His friend recommended him to look at the north shore of Massachusetts and that’s when he found Marblehead. Unfortunately, the one building he wanted had just sold but a week later it was up for sale again and he jumped at it.
“I said, Marblehead it is,” Davidson said.
As an architect, Davidson assumed this would always be his career path. Opening Trove was never on his radar until the dream, but he used his skills as an architect and redesigned the entire building interior.
“I hired a contractor and drew the drawings and got the permits and oversaw the construction, which is what I’ve done my whole career and this is the result,” Davidson said.
When you walk in you’ll find a bright space filled with art, all different types of furniture and a garden area out back. The name “Trove” means something valuable that has been hidden away.
“It’s not, you know, a super rare word,” Davidson said. “It doesn’t always refer to treasure because everybody associates it with treasure trove but it has that meaning basically it’s a group of things that have been hidden away that had value.”
Everything for sale in Trove pieces Davidson has collected over the years from family or things he’s bought himself.
“My stuff is obviously very eclectic and that’s what I like. I like to mix modern and old and I have a lot of unusual things and obscure things, which I think I’ve done,” Davidson said.
Among the “eclectic” items are jewlery, glassware, antique furniture, paintings from the 19th century and much more.
“This belonged to my great grandfather, this clock,” Davidson said while pointing to a clock with two bird-like figures coming out of the top and leaves on it sculpted below them. “That’s a black forest clock from Bavaria.”
One of the art pieces in his store was done by a local artist Carter Wentworth.
“He’s an extremely talented guy, he’s also a friend of mine. It’s probably one of the more expensive things in here,” Davidson said.
Over the past few weeks people have been coming in to sell antiques or trade products, which he said is encouraged in his store.
So far, he is loving Marblehead.
“It feels pretty relaxed to me, I felt at home right away here which for me is kind of unusual,” Davidson said. “ I have met so many nice people. Everybody’s so pleasant and excited and enthusiastic and complimentary. It’s just like a pleasure. I’m having fun.”
On Thursday, the Marblehead Chamber of Commerce will be conducting a ribbon ceremony at Trove from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. which anyone is welcome to attend.