Shoppers will want to find The Hidden Trove
“And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.”
-Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
For Stephanie Holbrook, the inspiration for the name and theme of her shop can be traced to a childhood fascination with secret places.
“The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books as a young girl,” said Stephanie, owner of The Hidden Trove in downtown Georgetown. “I was fascinated with the idea of a secret place with a special key to a hidden locked door.
“It was the mystery of what was on the other side that I found so intriguing. Inside the garden was the discovery of new growth – buried beneath neglect – and with hard work and attention it would once again bloom into something beautiful.”
In July of 2019, the shop at 127 North Court Street did indeed bloom into something beautiful. Step into this charming enclave of distinctive gifts, handcrafted artisan jewelry and warming home décor to a world where poking around and making your own discoveries has all the enchantment of wandering into an unexpected garden.
“I am still captivated by the idea of something special being hard to find or a secret,” admitted Stephanie. “Even the location, I believe, reflects on the name: The Hidden Trove – kinda off the beaten path . . . something worth discovering.”
Fabric plant holder baskets, prayer boxes, Karma candles, fresh-flower bouquets, woven purses perfect for summer outings, colorful pottery, handcrafted jewelry, soaps and other treasures, journals, lighting, clocks and, of course, keys of all shapes and sizes. There are so many goodies tucked in the cases and on the shelves that Stephanie likes to say shoppers can expect to find one meaning of the word, “trove”: a store of valuable and delightful things.
“I liked that so much I used it on my logo,” she said. “I think that’s exactly what folks find while shopping at The Hidden Trove!”
One of those “valuable and delightful things” is the shop’s line of Backwoods Jewelry, featuring handcrafted pieces made of all-natural gemstones and various metals as well as custom work, created by Stephanie’s daughter, Lauren Parker.
“She has quite a following,” proud mom Stephanie boasts.
Lauren, the vice president of the Georgetown/Scott County Farmers Market, maintains a booth and may be found there 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Stephanie credits Melissa Mattox, owner of Miss Behaven Boutique, for encouraging her to make the leap into retail.
“Melissa is a good friend of mine, and I had the pleasure of working for her for nearly three years,” she said. “She was a wealth of information for all the questions I had in the beginning.”
And she thanks the Georgetown community for their support when the pandemic forced the closure of retail venues.
“Since reopening, this community has really shown up to help us recoup from having been closed for two months.”
Stephanie reopened her doors on May 20 with new hours (10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday) and has put other protocols in place, such as cleaning and sanitizing to ensure the safety of her customers. She also asks that only four shoppers come in at any given time. (Which sort of makes this shop feel even more fascinating and mysterious.)
The Hidden Trove offers appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays for those who prefer to come alone. Advance arrangements are required. Curbside pickup is also available. Customers simply need to message the shop via Facebook (www.facebook.com/thehiddentrovellc) or call 859-321-2428 and Stephanie will send an invoice via email.
Click here to see a list of Georgetown shops with their updated hours and offerings, including curbside pickup and delivery.
