BERLIN—What do you get when you cross four friends, three specialty boutiques, two relatives and a row of next-door neighbors? You get the newest addition to the lineup of merchants in the Uptown Antiques mini-mall—Sassy Moments at Home, a home décor emporium.
Proprietors Laura Blinn, Holly McIntyre, Fran Murray, and Barbara Therry, have all previously owned stores in the Berlin area, which they closed due to family obligations and they all are neighbors.
Therry and Blinn are a mother and daughter team, who used to own Moments in West Ocean City; Murray who currently hosts Upscale Yard Sale in Ocean Pines, sold the Sassafras Station Boutique she founded in Berlin in 2002 to a purchaser who has since gone out of business; and McIntyre’s previous venture was Home Fittings in Pennington Commons near Ocean Pines.
Although the name “Sassy Moments at Home” may suggest otherwise, the name is an innocent hat tip to the group’s previous business ventures. Blinn said each boutique had a distinctively different style. “It’s an explosion of all our different styles coming together,” she said.
Murray was the one who set the wheels in motion and closed the deal, according to Blinn. When Murray spotted an article about antique store owner Bill Outten opening the upscale mini mall Uptown Antiques on the south end of Main Street, she took the initiative to convince her neighbors to examine four vendor spaces located together near the back of the showroom, Blinn said.
“I rushed them into it,” Murray chuckled. Blinn concurred about how quickly the decision and transaction took place. “We met, saw it, signed the papers and went ‘whoa,’” she laughed.
It’s the combination of styles that make the magic, according to Blinn, who described the offerings as, “A wonderland of eye candy.”
The description is apropos. The two pairs of adjacent spots provide just enough space to showcase how the three different styles of home decor complement each other—from classical, to artistic, to whimsical. It consists of Murray’s painted, vintage and “shabby chic” furnishings; balanced nicely by McIntyre’s traditional furniture items; and all tastefully accented by Therry and Blinn’s constantly changing custom-arranged artificial floral arrangements and gift baskets, along with an eclectic selection of international accessories.
“By putting it all together, we should be able to touch everybody,” Murray said of the combined effort. She added that originally the group had considered reopening as a stand-alone store, but reconsidered after seeing the amount of space they would have to work with in Uptown Antiques.
“We decided to start here,” Murray said. Blinn added, “We feel it can go far.”
Therry’s summation was brief and direct, “We’re just very excited to be back.”
For more information about the Sassy Moments at Home boutique, call 410-739-7021, or contact the shop by e-mail at shopgirls22004@yahoo.com.
Proprietors Laura Blinn, Holly McIntyre, Fran Murray, and Barbara Therry, have all previously owned stores in the Berlin area, which they closed due to family obligations and they all are neighbors.
Therry and Blinn are a mother and daughter team, who used to own Moments in West Ocean City; Murray who currently hosts Upscale Yard Sale in Ocean Pines, sold the Sassafras Station Boutique she founded in Berlin in 2002 to a purchaser who has since gone out of business; and McIntyre’s previous venture was Home Fittings in Pennington Commons near Ocean Pines.
Although the name “Sassy Moments at Home” may suggest otherwise, the name is an innocent hat tip to the group’s previous business ventures. Blinn said each boutique had a distinctively different style. “It’s an explosion of all our different styles coming together,” she said.
Murray was the one who set the wheels in motion and closed the deal, according to Blinn. When Murray spotted an article about antique store owner Bill Outten opening the upscale mini mall Uptown Antiques on the south end of Main Street, she took the initiative to convince her neighbors to examine four vendor spaces located together near the back of the showroom, Blinn said.
“I rushed them into it,” Murray chuckled. Blinn concurred about how quickly the decision and transaction took place. “We met, saw it, signed the papers and went ‘whoa,’” she laughed.
It’s the combination of styles that make the magic, according to Blinn, who described the offerings as, “A wonderland of eye candy.”
The description is apropos. The two pairs of adjacent spots provide just enough space to showcase how the three different styles of home decor complement each other—from classical, to artistic, to whimsical. It consists of Murray’s painted, vintage and “shabby chic” furnishings; balanced nicely by McIntyre’s traditional furniture items; and all tastefully accented by Therry and Blinn’s constantly changing custom-arranged artificial floral arrangements and gift baskets, along with an eclectic selection of international accessories.
“By putting it all together, we should be able to touch everybody,” Murray said of the combined effort. She added that originally the group had considered reopening as a stand-alone store, but reconsidered after seeing the amount of space they would have to work with in Uptown Antiques.
“We decided to start here,” Murray said. Blinn added, “We feel it can go far.”
Therry’s summation was brief and direct, “We’re just very excited to be back.”
For more information about the Sassy Moments at Home boutique, call 410-739-7021, or contact the shop by e-mail at shopgirls22004@yahoo.com.