In a visit to La Grotta Bazaar, you might mistake the Pawling vintage clothing and antique store for the sanctuary of a maximalist time traveler. Vintage spelter lamps drench the space in color, whimsical blown-glass vases and ornate wicker chairs nestle themselves amongst racks of patterned ’70s jumpsuits, all beneath a giant bundle of disco balls hanging from the ceiling. A flashy marriage of antique collectibles and vintage clothing, La Grotta Bazaar takes vintage shopping in Dutchess County to new heights.
New York City-born co-founders Jen Robbins and Blake Decker have always enjoyed collecting vintage and antique pieces, but didn't have the space to fully build their collections while living in Manhattan. Robbins was working as a fashion photographer, shooting for magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue until a long recovery from a hand surgery left her yearning for a change of pace. She began selling her vintage clothes in the Hudson Valley, taking her collection, The Babe Cave Vintage, to various centers across the region. Decker, on the other hand, was working in the corporate world as a creative marketing VP in advertising and branding for Fortune 500 companies.
Decker and Robbins lived down the hall from each other growing up in Roosevelt Island, but besides following each other on social media, their paths didn’t cross until Decker saw an advertorial for Robbins's vintage collection in Chronogram. By the time she reached out to Robbins, Decker had already attempted to open a vintage shop in her mixed-use property in Holmes with a different partner in 2020. She was “bordering on being a hoarder of cool stuff,” and wanted to turn her love of collecting into a business. The original concept quickly dissolved when COVID hit, but connecting with her former neighbor gave Decker the “perfect answer” on what to do with the space after her first vintage shop failed to launch.
“When we did meet to talk, it felt like we had already known each other,” Decker says. “I couldn't imagine a better business partner. To be able to have to work with someone with such a similar work ethic and aesthetic, doing something that we truly believe in and love to do, is just amazing.”
The two opened La Grotta Bazaar in June 2023, welcoming customers into the immersive space. Their distinct collections inhabit either side of the store: Decker’s Siren’s Trove feels like Ariel’s cave of treasures with its cool underwater-like tones, while Robbins’s Babe Cave gives a more retro feel, with in-your-face hot pinks and neons taking it back to the ’80s. Despite their different collections, the maximalist aesthetic is cohesive throughout.
“We created an immersive shopping experience with both of our backgrounds where the vintage clothes and the antiques and all of that come together,” Decker says.
It's more than just the gauzy dresses of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s or whimsical tchotkes that bring customers in—the owners truly love what they sell, and the space packed with decor provides an intimate shopping experience that almost doubles as a museum. Everything at La Grotta is intentional, and nearly every two weeks, Robbins and Decker spend their time redecorating the shop with new items.
“People come in to look and spend two to three hours there just hanging out,” Decker says. “For us, it's so much more than just selling vintage and antique goods.”
Every Friday through Sunday, Robbins and Decker are there at the location on 4063 Route 52 in the Holmes hamlet of Pawling, sharing these bits and pieces of history with anyone that might want a new statement piece for their house or wardrobe. “Every little piece that we bring in there is part of our heart and soul. I think that's what really makes us different from other stores that are out there,” Decker says.
