OCEAN PINES – A new gift store, Dazzle, has a little bit of everybody’s favorites.
Joyce Landsman has merged many favorites from all of her previous business ventures and has combined them into her new gift store, Dazzle, in Ocean Pines.
Landsman, and her husband, Bob Landsman, moved to the area in the 1990s from Montgomery County. Their first venture in 1996 was in Ocean City where they bought a place on 10th Street and the Boardwalk and transformed it into the Inn on the Ocean Bed and Breakfast.
Next, in 1999 Landsman opened a café, An Afare to Remember, in Berlin. The café included gourmet food, gifts and antiques, but the food was such a hit it wasn’t long until Landsman has to remove all other items to make way for more dining tables, and opened Main Street Gift Gallery also in Berlin. She even wrote a cookbook also titled, An Afare to Remember.
In 2005, Landsman parted ways with her café and gift shop to help manage her husband’s dental practice.
Now Landsman is taking on a new endeavor.
“I want people to be dazzled by what we do. Our gift baskets, our gifts, our service, and our foods,” she said.
Dazzle is taking over a new commercial space in Manklin Station. When the Landsmans arrived, it was an empty shell of concrete floors and bare walls. They have now transformed it into a colorful space with wood floors, a brick accent wall, all trimmed in molding with modern day lighting fixtures to spotlight all there is to offer.
“We have a little bit of everything,” Landsman said.
Dazzle offers everything from holiday décor, gifts, specialty gift baskets and unique cards to original art work, glassware, bake ware and gourmet foods, such as Blue Crab Bay Company.
Landsman will be offering samplings of gourmet foods sold in the store.
“I get gourmet foods brought in from Baltimore, such as cheeses. I am getting in these incredible imported Italian panettones. They are the best that you will ever taste,” she said. “People will be able to taste just about everything we have here and recipe cards to go along. For example, Maple Onion Jam. It is absolutely fantastic. You can put it over lamb chops, over cream cheese or as a sandwich spread. When you hear of something like that, people are hesitant but they can sample what we have.”
There is no doubt Landsman specializes in creating gift baskets as she has produced 200 to 300 in a holiday season and plans to keep the tradition alive with Dazzle.
“Our gift baskets are gorgeous, and we personalize per the occasion. We can do gourmet foods, cheeses, chocolates … or if it’s for a housewarming or a new baby. We can do just about anything. Everything is personalized and stylized,” Landsman said.
Dazzle is located in Manklin Station next to Rita’s Ice at the South Gate of Ocean Pines.