Local gift boutique welcomes shoppers in their cozy environment. PHOTO CREDIT: shopnicoscout.com
Owned and run by one woman, Amber Gadde, the Nico Scout gift shop offers a taste of city life in suburban Rhode Island.
In the summer of 2018, Gadde opened Nico Scout in the Quo Vadis Shopping Center located in Wakefield, Rhode Island. According to Gadde, she moved from Boston to South County, Rhode Island a few years prior and developed an interest in opening her own business.
“I knew I had a lot in me and a lot to share,” Gadde said. “I’ll take this risk and see if I can make it happen.”
Once Gadde moved to Rhode Island, according to her, she mentioned interest in running a business to someone she met. That person, coincidentally, gave her contact information of somebody selling their lease in Wakefield.
According to Gadde, she attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts program at Tufts University and has experience in the restaurant and fashion businesses.
Aside from occasional help in the summer, Gadde runs the business by herself while raising a seven-year-old son.
“That’s the crazy thing, I’m a one-woman show,” Gadde said.
Nico Scout reflects her variety of interests through the structure and design of the store and the products and brands she sells. According to Gadde, her city roots are intentionally reflected as well.
“I wanted to provide something to the community that I experienced in the city and couldn’t find down here,” Gadde said.
The store’s products range from books to plants and more in between. According to Gadde, choosing what to sell is a creative process.
“I don’t have rules, like, I just let myself flow,” Gadde said.
According to Gadde, she shows her love for music through posters, books and speakers that are always playing. Her knowledge of plants is offered in the store as well, as she sells and displays many.
One of Gadde’s favorite products sold is from a ceramics brand called Studio Arhoj from Copenhagen, Denmark, whose work she said she’s admired for a while. She also displays a T-shirt company, The Quiet Life, whose clothes she wants to share.
Gadde’s long interest in books and cooking is reflected in the store as well, varying in all kinds.
“I love expressing myself through books,” Gadde said. “It’s like having a poster on your wall.”
According to Gadde, her most recent interest has been business and growing her store has been a fun journey. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit while Nico Scout was starting out, Gadde remarked on times when business wasn’t easy. In the midst of forming a brand and gaining recognition, the pandemic was trivial for new, small businesses.
“I came up swinging because I took that time during COVID to rethink how I wanted the shop to be,” Gadde said.
However, Gadde said her time in isolation was positive and helped her consider how she wanted to run the store.
“I started treating the shop more like an art piece of my own,” Gadde said. “Less formulaic and way more individual, more art-forward.”
According to Gadde, Nico Scout has been doing well since the pandemic. The store’s customers, who are regulars, locals and tourists, range in all ages.
Gadde said she has hope for growth for the future of Nico Scout.
“We’ve grown with how we look, with all the products, with what we offer, with our customers,” Gadde said. “Grow, grow, grow.”
Follow Nico Scout @shopnicoscout on Instagram, and visit shopnicoscout.com, or 556 Kingstown Road, South Kingstown, Rhode Island.