Gado-Gado Boutique Closing After 27 Years as Owner Suzanne Roberts Launches New Endeavor
Gado-Gado Boutique Closing After 27 Years as Owner Suzanne Roberts Launches New Endeavor
As Gado-Gado prepares to close, Suzanne Roberts transitions from fashion retail to healing and empowerment work through coaching and Clarity Breathwork.
For over 27 years, Suzanne Roberts’ Gado-Gado has been a fixture on Monroe Street in downtown Ellicottville. With its trellis of vines growing above the entranceway and its iconic sign lettering, it is hard not to miss. What was once a place to find unique, artisan-made clothing, housewares, wood carvings, and furniture from around the globe later morphed into the powerhouse boutique it is today. Gado-Gado offers bespoke and fashion-forward ladies’ clothing and accessories, along with its tried-and-true home goods. EllicottvilleNOW caught up with owner Suzanne Roberts for a chat about the store closing and her next chapter, one that centers on healing, presence, and empowerment through Clarity Breathwork, coaching, and embodied movement.
“I’m inspired and feeling very positive about what’s next!” Suzanne shared. “I really don’t feel that we have to do the same thing our entire lives - as we evolve and transform, that becomes represented in what we do and how we move through the world.”
Suzanne said that she started her business after a career move took her to Asia almost three decades ago, eventually leading her to Bali, Indonesia, where she met people who were in alignment with her soul’s calling.
“I lived in Japan for a period of time, and from there, I started traveling to Bali, Indonesia. That was the beginning of the seed of how my business started, with all of the beauty and creativity there,” she explained.
That memory was over 30 years ago, which Suzanne reflected on during our conversation. “I wanted to continue to have a connection to Indonesia, so I started designing, batiking, and creating a women’s and children’s clothing line as well as importing things I wanted to share from my travels,” she said, adding that that included anything from lighting, furniture, pottery, jewelry, textiles, home goods, and many more items. “As I continued to expand the store, it was important to me to collaborate with the artisans and family businesses.”
Suzanne continued traveling for eight years with her daughter until she became pregnant with her son. She then started to introduce more locally-sourced merchandise from fellow travelers and small businesses, while maintaining a connection to Bali.
With her hard work and dedication to sourcing unique and artisanal finds from around the globe, Suzanne built quite the following, including a dedicated clientele of locals and patrons from around the country. The recent announcement of the store’s closure has some in shock. “People come into this store and say, ‘Oh my god, you’re closing? We’re so sad, aren’t you sad?’… and they are expecting doom and gloom,” she said, but she explained that she doesn’t feel that way at all. “I’m following my heart and my intuition; I’m excited, and I feel positive and inspired by what’s next for me and my own personal evolution - for me and for my work,” she said.
Although no official closing timeline has been announced, Suzanne is taking time to wind down her inventory and honor fall orders while keeping her clientele informed via email and social media. In her spare time, she focuses on her next chapter, her coaching business, Bulan Baru Coaching, through which she will focus on her intentional living coaching, Clarity Breathwork, and Azul Embodied Movement.
Through working with each healing modality separately, Suzanne finds that they have complementary benefits. She prefers to work one-on-one or in small groups, both in-person and via Zoom. She explained that “intentional living is about being conscious about how you’re moving through your life and being mindful that your life is aligning with your values and your belief systems.”
Suzanne said she started her work as an intentional living coach after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2019. “I was diagnosed with breast cancer really unexpectedly, and as those types of things do, the universe kind of pushed me down on my tush and said, ‘Time to look at what you really want to do here and how you want to live,’ so I started working as an intentional living coach, which then led me to Clarity Breathwork and it dramatically changed my life.”
She continued, “It is a very gentle breathwork process that helps us tap into our subconscious mind to clear away, or release, limiting beliefs or fears, passed traumas, or negative patterns, bringing us closer to love and joy. It really brings us to deeper awareness and insight into our lives’ healing, drawing us closer to our own internal knowing. I have seen dramatic transformation and healing in myself, with my peers, with my clients. I love this work.”
Stay tuned for the official date of Gado-Gado’s closing by signing up for the store’s email and following along on social media. Until then, visit the store at 26 Monroe Street, downtown Ellicottville and shop new fall arrivals and sale merchandise as part of the ongoing store closing sale.
To contact Suzanne for her Intentional Life coaching or Breathwork, email BulanbaruCoaching@gmail.com or message her on Facebook or Instagram. Suzanne is offering a few one-on-one spots for a series of ten, two-hour sessions at a special rate as she advances her training with Clarity Breathwork. Sessions will include breathwork and gentle coaching. Contact her directly for details.