Madison Avenue moms are fortunate to have a good selection of children's gift and clothing stores in their neighborhood. We spent a week checking them out. Today we feature Monograms off Madison, a boutique that offers visitors a customized gift-giving experience.
Owner, Alyssa Tierney, has sold playfully preppy accessories to specialty boutiques nationwide under the A. Tierney label for over ten years. Since many of the products in that line can be personalized, it was natural that Tierney became an expert in monogramming, which inspired her to open her own store, offering the same beautiful monogramming on a broad assortment of specialty products.
Here is our interview.
What is your background Alyssa?
I was a finance and accounting major and started as a sales
assistant at a large wall street firm called Sanford Bernstein. I hosted
the analyst luncheons, which eventually led me to an event planning career at
Price Waterhouse for eight years. Many of the hosting and planning
skills I developed have given me a keen eye for the perfect milestone gift,
which our store specializes in.
What percentage of your store is baby products?
20 percent of our business is baby products. We have
the "Huge Cable Teddy" that is quite popular- a lot of
customer's will monogram the teddy's left ear with the child's initials and the
right ear with his/her birth date. We also have cashmere blankets, eyelet
bloomers, and we carry many traditional baby brands like KissyKissy.
How much online business do you do?
Because we are such a neighborhood store, our online biz is
about 10 percent of sales. However, it is our fastest growing segment of
Monograms off Madison and we expect it to grow exponentially as our brand
awareness increases (more NYC moms are shopping online while their baby sleeps
or wakes them up in the middle of the night!).
Do you support Made-in-the USA products?
Yes, we carry many American made products, including Maple
Landmark, 3 Marthas, Devon Knitwear, and MJK Knits (made right here in NYC!).
Do you have a lot of repeat customers?
Yes, we demand great customer service through our unique monogramming
and personalized gifts. So we have developed a strong
neighborhood client base. We also create "milestone gifts"
so often the engaged couple might visit our store and then stay loyal with us
through all of their other touchstone events (i.e wedding, baby, birthday
gifts, etc). However, we do get walk-ins and young brides from all
over the NYC area that are looking for that perfect bridesmaid gift.
Alyssa Tierney
What local non-profits/schools do you support?
I have always supported community relations in my neighborhood
including Search& Care, all the schools and Carnegie Hill Neighbors.
For the 3rd year in a row we donated the trick or treat bags for
Carnegie Hill Neighbors Annual Halloween block party.
Store Hours:
Monday-Wednesday, Friday: 10am-6pm
Thursday: 10am-8pm
Monograms off Madison
29 East 93rd Street (Between Madison and Fifth)
New York, New York 10128
Phone number: 646-546-5993