Sheri and Sean Reaser's love for DIY—and encouragement from their friends and family— inspired them to open a home and garden décor shop on Main Street in Emmaus. Despite only being open for a day prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, Cottage & Bloom has been celebrated by the community and already has a few regulars.
Sheri & Sean Reaser
Owners
Tell us where the name Cottage & Bloom came from! It's a play on Home & Garden! We are homebodies with a passion for DIY and changing up our interior and outdoor spaces to give them new life, and we want to help others do that in their own homes.
What inspired you to open the shop? We have been told for years by friends and family who visit our home that we should be in a creative field. I have always dreamed of having my own shop, and when the building at 379 Main Street in Emmaus became available, I knew it was the perfect location and setting for the dream to become reality.
How has it been received in the community? The shop has been received extremely well by the community. We love the town of Emmaus and have been warmly welcomed by the local business owners and shoppers. We signed our lease in early February and, after opening for one day at the end of the month, were impacted by the COVID-19 shutdown. We decorated our windows and hung a Coming Soon banner, and I think the excitement built as passersby waited for us to open.
Describe the aesthetic at Cottage & Bloom. Our style is Urban Cottage, which mixes industrial, modern farmhouse and rustic elements. We combine vintage and new items for a collected-over-time look and the color story is neutral tones—white, black, green and natural wood.
Describe the vast array of offerings available at the shop. We carry home and garden décor including vases, planters, candles, faux stems and greenery, industrial lighting, blankets, pillows, baskets and architectural/vintage elements. We are constantly sourcing new items. For our shoppers that come regularly, we want the store to always feel fresh and new.
What are some of your most popular items? Our most popular items are our soy candles from Antique Candle Co., our flower gathering baskets and our Chippy White Flower with its perfectly distressed patina.
What are some items or products that readers may be surprised to learn that you carry/offer? We have a Terrarium Bar in the shop that is filled with glass terrariums, cloches, jars and a variety of different fillers to create your own—or purchase one we have already styled. The fillers will change seasonally to give our customers options to restyle their terrarium throughout the year. We also have industrial lighting, leather chairs and many vintage items like cigar and brick molds.
Tell us what you love about being located on Main Street in Emmaus! We love Main Street in Emmaus because the town has so many wonderful small businesses and such a strong sense of community. Our location on the triangle is perfect because it gives us direct access to the many events held there. The other business owners have been awesome as well. We wouldn't want our shop anywhere else!
Talk a little bit about your large social media following and how that originated. I started my Instagram journey five years ago to share DIY projects that Sean and I took on when we purchased a 1980s beach cottage in North Carolina. It expanded when Sean decided to build a she-shed and we documented that entire process. I quickly discovered a whole community of people across the world who are obsessed with all things home, décor and DIY like we are, and I was hooked! I participated in several hashtag groups to grow my following of people who share the same interests and honed my photography skills to post compelling photos that stop the scroll. This has opened up many opportunities for us including being featured in two magazines—The Farmhouse Movement and, currently, the Cottages & Bungalows August/September edition.
Tell us how your business has adjusted during COVID-19. Obviously, opening during a global pandemic was not part of the business plan! After signing our lease in February, we planned on doing a grand opening with a ribbon cutting in late March. It was actually a blessing in disguise as the downtime allowed us to focus on less-exciting items like point of sale systems and setting up a business from scratch! It also allowed us to focus on creating our website, cottageandbloom.com.
This enabled us to start our business virtually. If we had opened when we planned, we would not have had the time to focus on this area and may have missed what has turned out to be a wonderful opportunity.
379 Main St., Emmaus | 610.703.6813 | cottageandbloom.com
