Furnishings and decor business House Berlin recently received a $10,000 grant to enhance the store’s offerings and provide an improved shopping experience for town residents and tourists.
House Berlin, a furnishings and decor business, is pictured in the Town of Berlin.
Submitted photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Berlin furnishings and decor business, House Berlin, received a $10,000 grant to enhance the store’s offerings and provide an improved shopping experience for town residents and tourists.
The shop’s owners, husband and wife team Andrea and Corey Canon, applied for the Backing Small Businesses Grant presented by American Express in partnership with Main Street America. The group awarded the couple’s business $10,000.
Main Street America’s website states, “The Backing Small Business grant program supports economically vulnerable and under-resourced small businesses with community reach and cultural significance.”
The statement continues, emphasizing that eligible business owners could apply for the monetary gift for projects that “grow or improve their businesses by building community, supporting their economic viability, or bolstering meaningful change.”
Andrea Canon said they plan to use the money to improve their paint classes, enhance the lawn on the storefront’s patio, and bring on new vendors to expand the shop’s offerings.
House Berlin provides interested residents with the chance to learn from the store’s certified Chalk Paint retailers how to properly use the supplies on furniture. Participants are required to bring their own small fixtures, like side tables, to the workshops. Canon maintained that the grant will enhance these classes.
“We wanted a way to re-vamp things a bit, and this grant will allow us to do so without going into debt,” she said.
House Berlin, located on Artisan’s Way, just celebrated its seventh anniversary. Canon said that she and her partner, originally from Baltimore, were inspired to open the shop after they both experienced parental losses.
“My husband and I were both in jobs that didn’t fulfill us, and we wanted to do work that we were passionate about,” the owner said. “We had both lost parents to cancer in 2015, and they were both young. This motivated us to change our lives in a big way. We moved to Berlin, quit our jobs, and opened our own business, which was something we had always dreamed of.”
Canon said they are thankful for the support from the Backing Small Businesses award.
“We are passionate about turning old furniture into beautiful pieces of art, and we love inspiring our customers,” she said. “Making our customers happy with our work is what is most rewarding for us…we are so grateful for the grant. We encourage other small businesses to apply for grants. It’s worth putting in the time and effort. We feel truly blessed to be a recipient.”
House Berlin is open daily. Its hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.