The Collective, the new, Bolton Landing, Main Street emporium composed of three Bolton born and bred businesses – Finishing Touches, Lake Shore Provisions and Local – is open for business every day through January 4.
To help celebrate the holidays, decorations, café tables for coffee and pastries and, of course, seasonally appropriate, Adirondack-oriented merchandise, abound.
For those spending the holidays in or near Bolton Landing who would rather be out of doors or on the couch – or anywhere but the kitchen – Theresa Kennedy’s Lake Shore Provisions offers customized charcuterie boards and renowned caterer Maureen Monahan Chase’s frozen pot pies and soups, as well as freshly-baked breads and pastries and sought-after products from cheese-maker Nettle Meadow, Oscar’s Smokehouse and Hick’s Orchards.
“We make a point of searching out, supporting and highlighting local artisans and businesses,” said Theresa Kennedy.
Need a hostess gift? Susan Cady, the florist of choice for weddings at the Sagamore and the Lake George Club, has ready-made “grab-and-go bouquets” in a cooler, available for purchase.
According to Grace Cady Kennedy, Susan Cady’s daughter and Theresa Kennedy’s daughter-in-law, one-of-a-kind floral arrangements can also be ordered through Finishing Touches’ counter at The Collective, which is on the right as you enter the shop from Main Street.
The 42-year-old business bows to its origins as a home furnishings gallery, thanks to the joint efforts of Susan Cady and Theresa Kennedy.
Grace tells us that “Terri and Susan together chose and stocked our merchandise,” which includes a range of products perfect for Christmas gifts, such as the artwork of Mia Muratori or the large-format photographs of Mark Dye.
“We definitely have a lot of great gift ideas, and many distinctly Adirondack-themed items,” said Theresa Kennedy.
“We work together on resources, maintain the space and embrace the chance to grow our businesses together,” said Susan Cady.
Behind Cady’s Finishing Touches, extending to the back of the former hardware store (the building has also served, over the course time, as a gift shop, home furnishings store and clothing boutique) is Local.
Founded in 2011 by Bolton Central School graduates and college roommates Matt Peterson and Domenick Pfau, the lake lifestyle-branded apparel company is ready for a new chapter in its ongoing story.
On the day we visited, Matt Peterson was on hand to showcase Local’s Christmas favorites: hand-poured candles, Christmas ornaments and Local-branded ski hats showing off Gore as your home mountain.
Local also carries clothing from Preservation Threads, a small upstate New York company that repurposes carefully curated vintage clothing.
Since its original line of t-shirts, hoodies and tank tops branded with the silhouette of Lake George, created in a dorm room, Local has grown up – just as its original customers have.
“We were college kids working with a shoestring budget. Our customers have grown with us; they now have kids and lake houses. But we still carry everyone’s favorites,” said Peterson. After the holidays, The Collective will be open Thursday through Sunday until March, when it will close for the month. It will re-open in mid-Apri for the 2026 season.
