Still searching for the perfect gift or new décor pieces to spruce up your home this holiday? Look no further than MAK & Co., a brand new home furnishing, gift, and accessories shop in Andover.
The shop, which opened November 4 in the refurbished River Bend Mill on Red Spring Road, features pieces like rugs, lighting, vintage finds, eco-friendly furniture from Virginia-based manufacturer Rowe, accessories, and gifts for the whole family.
MAK & Co. is the culmination of a long-time dream of Lynn Makiej, who co-owns the store with her husband.
“I’ve been doing some interior design work for about seven or eight years now,” she says. “All along I have wanted my own little shop.”
Her interior design career started organically, she says, and also a little unexpectedly. For 22 years, Makiej has owned the DNE School of Dance in Chelmsford, but has also had a passion for decorating and design.
At first, she started in her own home, where friends would marvel at her knack for interior design. Eventually, those friends enlisted her help in designing and decorating their homes, too, and before within a few years, she was taking on clients outside of her circle of friends.
With her two sons, ages 11 and 6, both in school full time, Makiej knew the time was right to realize her dream of opening a shop. The availability of space in the River Bend Mill made the timing impeccable.
“If I was going to do a store, this is exactly where it needs to be,” she says. “It’s this beautiful mill space on the river. It’s the perfect spot for something like this.”
Makiej says she’s received a warm welcome from the Andover community, and it’s easy to see why. MAK & Co. is an inviting and personal-feeling space filled with expertly curated finds that can’t be found in big box stores, like old European doors and shutters, rustic tabletop pieces, and rugs from India that give a portion of sales back to the villages where they’re made.
There are dedicated sections for men (featuring leather pieces, grooming products, and accessories) and kids, with toys, books, and gadgets that her sons helped choose. You can also find gift and décor items for the holidays, like tabletop trees, stemware and plates, linen napkins, candles, and a weathered metal deer weathervane that Makiej’s customers are using to embellish their dining room table or buffet.
“It feels very welcoming, very warm,” Makiej says. She adds that MAK and Co. speaks to peoples’ values, with an emphasis on special pieces that not only stand the test of time, but also become more treasured as the years pass.
“They want a custom pine table that they’re going to have for their whole family and pass it down,” Makiej says. “I think that’s how people live now.”