Hand Tied, specializing in custom floral creations, has been open for five years but moved into a stand-alone shop this spring. Owner Sheri Vaughn started making arrangements for friends’ weddings, leading to a farmers market booth, with quick growth into a shop-within-a-shop at the now closed Honeycomb Gifts. The business has now blossomed into a freestanding store in the basement of the same building (314 Main). Sheri laughed, “I’m a speakeasy. Everyone that comes down here says ‘OH MY GOD! I had no idea this was down here!’”
“We do a little bit of everything geared towards pick up and go gifts.” The bright shop features organically arranged flowers with out-of-the-ordinary gifts, perfect for those trendy friends with a good sense of humor. Sheri’s favorites include DIY craft kits, irresistible chocolate truffles, quirky keychains, humorous air fresheners, and rollerball perfumes. Sheri has learned that stocking the store is an art. She goes to Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Dallas to find the most up-and-coming trends. She shared, “I’m still trying to train my brain to buy for my customer, not just myself. It’s a lot of work. You have to be passionate about it.” The biggest perk to business ownership has been flexibility, but her favorite part is arranging for weddings. “The relationships with my customers are the most meaningful things ever. Seeing new faces and getting compliments makes me so happy.”
There are downsides to a downstairs location; getting the word out has been a challenge without a window-lined storefront. The decorated stairwell encourages visitors to venture into the unknown. The 314 Main building features other specialty shops as well. “I don’t compete with my upstairs gals. We do this together. We’ll check in with each other.”
Business community cooperation isn’t the only support our neighborhood shops need. Sheri explained, “I just think that Downtown as a whole needs community support. It’s important that we support our local small business. They are definitely the heart and soul of the community.”