BERLIN – With a move to Main Street, Bungalow Love is offering customers twice the selection of handmade and fair trade items.
On May 2, Bungalow Love opened in its new location at 9 S. Main St. After more than five years in a small shop on William Street, Bungalow Love owner Heather Layton said she was looking for a chance to expand.
“I’m excited to move up to Main Street to a bigger and brighter building,” Layton said.
Layton’s new space, previously occupied by Bustle, is nearly double the size of her former shop and includes a work room in the back. When she heard it was available and realized her lease on William Street was about to expire, she decided to make the move. Transferring all her merchandise proved to be a bigger task than she expected.
“I thought it’d be easy because it was just around the corner,” she said, “but moving is still moving.”
The building’s owner installed new hardwood floors before Layton moved in, but because she liked the paint scheme Bustle had in place she made few changes to the space herself.
As it always has, Bungalow Love features a variety of handmade and fair trade items. Though Layton had a substantial number of things on consignment when she first opened several years ago, she’s taken to choosing and purchasing inventory herself.
The store features a number of locally made products, such as serigraphs from Salisbury’s Erick Sahler and Layton’s own custom jewelry.
Bungalow Love also carries AR Apothecary products, including a facial serum for the skin as well as spritzers and salves.
Much of the rest of the store’s inventory is made up of products Layton has chosen through Etsy,
an online marketplace of handmade and vintage products.
“I think everything you purchase should be ethically sourced,” she said.
New in the now-expanded shop is the work of a California potter who makes little clay wall hangings that feature live plants as well as whimsical clay flasks.
“They’ve been a huge hit,” Layton said.
Embroidered handbags from Guatemala have also proven popular.
“I can barely keep them in stock,” Layton said.
She says she’s careful when choosing her merchandise to make sure Bungalow Love stays unique.
“’I’m very conscious of what I’m carrying,” she said. “I don’t want someone to be able to go down the block and buy it.”
In addition to the expanded inventory made possible by her new location, Layton hopes to begin offering arts and crafts classes on the back porch of the building in the coming months.
“I’m teaming up with area artists that will be teaching classes,” she said.
Bungalow Love is open Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., on Friday from noon-8 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, call 410-641-2781.