Madison1122web

Sometimes Jenny plays and sometimes she
invites a jazz trio. A lover of music, she likes to
bring that into any space she is working in.
Jenny celebrates her own individuality as a
designer, hoping that it translates into the
experience her customers have when they step
into a JDabbs building.
“My goal is for you to have a wonderful,
warm, cozy, feeling when you walk in… whether
you’re shopping or just stopping by to visit. We
love to sit and hang out with our customers. We
sit on the styled furniture, have drinks in the
warehouse. We always have great music playing
and it smells good and…we just have a great time.
It’s fun for us and we want our customers to
feel the same.
“We often put lawn chairs outside and sit
on the sidewalks in front of shops and just hang
out. We enjoy having a good time, singing and
dancing daily. We just make life fun in our
spaces and why not? Who says high-end has
to be stuffy?”
Dabb’s zest for life and work has led her to
take on the biggest renovation she’s ever been
part of and one of the biggest that downtown
Philadelphia has ever seen. Greg and Pam Smith
and their daughter Kadee purchased the historic
Yates building on the Square in April of 2022.
Kadee, who had met Jenny when she was a bride
shopping for items in The Potting Shed, was
insistent that Jenny be the one to bring their
vision to life. “When I knew we were about to
tackle one of the biggest renovations of such a
historic building on the square I knew we
needed to go over the top on design and I knew
only one person would fill that bill and that was
Jenny. We are a little over halfway through and
she has been a gem to work with. She can turn
small budgets into works of art. She knows
where you can spend less and still make the
final outcome breathtaking. She has cemented
herself as our family’s forever designer.”
Renovations began on July 1. “It’s coming
along great,” Jenny relates. “The Yates Hospital
is an old building with an immense amount of
character. It was built in the 1920s, so it has
around 100 years of history that we’re trying to
preserve while getting rid of anything that’s not
useful like junk and debris.” The plan is to turn
the first floor, formerly a pharmacy, into a
restaurant. The second floor, which used to be a
hospital, is still in the planning and dreaming
phase.
Jenny sees a big future for the revitalization
of Philadelphia and can’t wait to see what’s next.
She now splits her time between working
out of town with clients and in her shop
downtown. Neither of which would be possible
without her very supportive family and the
close-knit team that runs the shop when she is
traveling. JDabbs Design spaces are a reflection
of Jenny’s particular style, of which her colleagues
and customers are big fans. Will Ballou of
Ballou Design Group says, “Jenny never stops.
She has a great eye for design and her store
reflects this. She has a talent for combining
unique pieces to create a cohesive result. Her
store fills a gap in central Mississippi for home
furnishings and accessories. I have bought
several pieces of my own from her.”
Melody Vowell is now settled into the
home Jenny designed and is thrilled with the
end result. “One of my favorite things Jenny
encouraged me to do was put black subway tile
on my kitchen wall instead of white. I was a
little hesitant at first, but I am so glad we did!
There is a lot of natural light in my house and
the black subway wall gives my kitchen a much
needed depth and contrast.”
Jenny’s current projects include a massive
hunting lodge in the delta, a historic home in
Eastover, a furnish in Reunion, and two new
construction builds in Starkville. Were that
not enough, she’s also running her shop and
considering adding to her collection of retail
spaces if the right building becomes available
in Starkville.
And how does Jenny herself see her
contribution to the local and regional design
landscape?
“I am different and see things differently.
I like to have a story behind my work or design
things in a way that is unexpected. I’ll try things
others might not be willing to try. I want people
to see my work and ask….how did she do that?”
28 • NOVEMBER 2022