Times-Herald Record

Foundry 42+ of Port Jervis has been named one of the nation’s “50 Retail Stars for 2018” by a leading trade magazine, Home Accents Today.

Business Editor Thomas Lester, who compiled the list from nominations by members of the home furnishings industry, said, “Foundry 42 stood out among all the entries we received.” Citing creative retailing and contributions to the community, Lester said the local lifestyle store “checked all the boxes we were looking for.”

Cooper Boone, creator and founder of Foundry 42+, introduced his unconventional marketing concept to a depressed downtown in November 2016. A fusion of heterogeneous finds and furnishings, cosmopolitan coffee bar, and product and artisan demonstrations, “Foundry” is crowned by The Loft overhead - a 2,400-square-foot space devoted to concerts, community programs, and private parties. Since opening, Boone’s eclectic mecca on Front Street has been credited as the trigger for the current revitalization of downtown Port Jervis.

The award from Home Accents Today, said Boone, “affirms our philosophy of retail, which is experiential based.” Experiential marketing, according to the entrepreneur, offers clientele a sensory experience as they shop - one during which they can see, taste, touch and absorb their surroundings.

Boone said his marketing strategy reflects his life’s passions - “food, design, home goods, and parties.”

The 50 entrepreneurial honorees - from 26 states across the country - will be honored at a celebratory dinner in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by wholesale trade center AmericasMart Atlanta, sponsor of the Retail Stars list, now in its 14th year of recognizing “the best independent home décor and home furnishings retailers in the country.”