Antique and Asian furniture retailer Elements East will open a store in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward neighborhood by the end of the year.
East Elements owner, Meg Hopkins is leasing 5,200 square feet of space at 191 N. Broadway from Joseph Property Development LLC. Hopkins is planning to open during the week of Thanksgiving to preview the store, and then open casually in the month of December.
She will likely close in January and hold a grand opening in early Spring.
Elements East, which has moved from Whitefish Bay to Shorewood and most recently has been operating with limited hours out of a warehouse at 531 E. Keefe Ave. in Milwaukee’s Riverwest Neighborhood, will now have a permanent home in the Third Ward, Hopkins said.
The Riverwest warehouse will become overflow space and a clearance center that will be open by appointment only.
“I’m hoping the Third Ward is such a large space, it can also be used for experiences,” Hopkins said. “I want to have lectures about Chinese fine arts, sacred spaces and Feng Shui. Having been in corporate retail for so long, I think good retail is something more experiential.”
Hopkins spent more than 20 years working as an executive in corporate retail. Most recently, she was the vice president and head of sales for Port Washington-based Allen Edmonds.
Her resume also includes director of sales at Adidas, senior vice president of merchandise at Kohl’s and vice president at The Gap.
Hopkins left her role at Allen Edmonds in April. She purchased Elements East after being a long-time customer of the store and also started another business, KineticMKE a Pilates studio she co-owns with Trey Fry in Riverwest.
“Allen Edmonds was fabulous, I loved it and it wasn’t a big corporate entity so I was able to get my hands in a lot of pots,” Hopkins said. “But I’m at a point in my life where I wanted to do something entrepreneurial. I have a supportive, entrepreneurial husband and we said ‘it’s now or never.’”
Robert Joseph, founder of Joseph Property Development, said Elements East will be a great fit for Broadway.
“I’m really excited for Meg to open the store,” Joseph said. “It is perfect for the street and a good match for the Third Ward.”
