Maison de Savon Expanding to Downtown Pittsburgh
HERMITAGE, Pa. – Maison de Savon, the bath, body and beauty store run by mother-daughter duo Gia Hart-Kokor and Gillian Hart-O’Brien, will be soon be expanding with a new store in Pittsburgh.
The new store will be in downtown Pittsburgh, 230 Fifth Ave. in the Ensemble on Fifth development. The development caters to luxury retailers. The new Maison de Savon store will open Nov. 1.
“We got to a point where we realized we really had a shot of growing into something bigger than us,” Hart-Kokor said in a statement. “My hopes for Pittsburgh are that we can make a presence and eventually help with community outreach programs and maybe grow a bigger store.”
With the expansion, Hart-Kokor and Hart-O’Brien plan to hire three more employees to work at the Pittsburgh store.
The store, which offers handmade products such as soaps, body washes, shave soaps and more, was started in Hermitage six years ago.
“It started with Gillian wanting a spa party for her friends when she was 12 back in 2015,” Hart-Kokor said. “We started with whipped soap, lip and body scrubs and enjoyed giving it out to friends and family. I joked that maybe we can sell some of it and help save money for Gillian to go to college.”
Maison de Savon also offers several product lines supporting charitable efforts. The Soap Sergeant line supports veterans’ organization – a cause that means much to Hart-Kokor, a retired first sergeant from the Army who served in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo – and the Melissa Ann Cosmetics line, which raises money for organizations helping those with RETT syndrome.
Also available will be products from the pair’s other business, Doobie’s Happy Pets, which makes CBD-infused treats and grooming products for pets.
Other expansions are planned, including a store in Cleveland late in 2020 and one in Canton in early 2023.
Pictured: Gia Hart-Kokor and Gillian Hart-O’Brien, the co-founders of Maison de Savon, in their Hermitage store.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
