{"id":18894,"date":"2016-03-04T12:53:44","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T17:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/03\/laura-farrar-pileckas-love-of-fashion-led-to-creation-of-her-violets-of-saratoga-shop.html"},"modified":"2017-11-29T08:25:17","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T13:25:17","slug":"laura-farrar-pileckas-love-of-fashion-led-to-creation-of-her-violets-of-saratoga-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/03\/laura-farrar-pileckas-love-of-fashion-led-to-creation-of-her-violets-of-saratoga-shop\/","title":{"rendered":"Laura Farrar-Pileckas' Love Of Fashion Led To Creation Of Her 'Violet's Of Saratoga' Shop"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\t\t\t\u00a92016 Saratoga Photographer.com\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
By Jill Nagy<\/p>\n
Violet’s of Saratoga, a women’s clothing and accessories store at 494 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, reopened in February after a major makeover. Owner Laura Farrar-Pileckas plans a party on March 10 to show off the new look and celebrate the reopening.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the shop is fully stocked and open for business.<\/p>\n
Violet’s has “a fresh new feel,” more modern and plush, with new furnishings and light fixtures, as well as a few new brands of merchandise, according to Pilleckas. “I’m excited about the season coming up,” she said, and she hopes that customers will share her enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
Pileckas opened Violet’s nine years ago as a women’s clothing store. A few years later, she opened Stella’s, a women’s shoe store. The two were later combined into the store at its present site in the Collamer Building, near the Saratoga Springs City Hall.<\/p>\n
Pileckas said that she “always loved fashion” and also enjoyed business, including working in retail. She has a bachelors degree in finance and worked for five years in that field in Boston.<\/p>\n
Then, she “decided to become an entrepreneur. … I couldn’t see myself sitting at a desk for the rest of my life.”<\/p>\n
These days, she doesn’t get much chance to sit behind a desk. In addition to running Violet’s, she helps out with her husband’s building and contracting business and is raising three sons, ages 9 , 3 and 18 months. She grew up in Glens Falls but she and her family have lived in Saratoga Springs for more than 10 years.<\/p>\n
The merchandise tries to hit a couple of generations, she said, targeting “fashion forward” mothers and daughters shopping together.<\/p>\n
Currently, she is featuring a lot of color and florals in dresses designed for a day at the track or an informal party (no evening gowns in stock). Dress sizes range from 2 to 12; shoe sizes, from 6 to 10. There are no petits or large sizes, she said.<\/p>\n
“You can’t always dress everyone under one roof,” she said.<\/p>\n
Prices range from accessories and jewelry from $25, dresses primarily in the $50 to $150 range, and some splurges like $400 leather boots. “We try to keep prices reasonable but still keep the quality up,” she said.<\/p>\n
Jessica Guerin manages the store. She has been with the business for about five years. In addition, there are two full-time and six par-time employees. Another may be added for the summer.<\/p>\n
Beginning in March, Violet’s will be open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. the rest of the week.<\/p>\n
The reopening party on March 10 will be from 6-8 p.m. Pileckas plans cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a DJ, giveaways, a designer trunk show, gift cards, prizes and a 20 percent discount on merchandise purchased that evening.<\/p>\n
For further information about Violet’s, call the store at 584-4838.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Laura Farrar-Pileckas is the owner of Violet's of Saratoga at 494 Broadway. ©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com By Jill Nagy Violet's of Saratoga, a women's clothing and accessories store at 494 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, reopened in February after a major makeover….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":25513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-women-in-business"],"yoast_head":"\r\n