Sara Vallandingham, owner/curator of Sara’s House, said she started exploring options for moving from her current Bridgewater Falls location last summer, and the renovations happening in downtown Hamilton caught her eye.
“Hamilton has so much momentum,” she said.
Vallandingham said the new building will be more conducive to the store’s products, which include re-purposed furniture, recovered trinkets, and bath and body products by local businesses Lah V Dah and Grace Green. Nine Lives, a line of custom, recycled lights and furniture by Vallandingham’s husband, Dave, will also have more room to shine in the new space.
Sara’s House, which turned two years old in February, worked with CORE Fund architect Mike Dingeldein when the Hungry Bunny building became available last November. The building size and store were an ideal match, Dingeldein said.
“We needed to find a small-scale store to get in there,” Dingeldein said.
The CORE Fund is a nonprofit formed in 2012 to provide nontraditional loans for residential and commercial development projects in Hamilton. The fund provides lower-interest capital with lengthier payback terms than traditional business loans to applicants that qualify.
The CORE Fund spent $150,000 for the Hungry Bunny building, according to Dingeldein. While the Hungry Bunny has had some tenants on its first floor, Dingeldein said the three-story mixed use building has been empty for the past five years.
“Any time Hamilton can land a quality tenant like Sara’s House, which will support and complement Sherry Armstead’s retail mix at Art Off Symmes, it is a plus,” said City Manager Joshua Smith.
Since announcing the move, Vallandingham said she has seen a rise in support for her family business among Hamilton residents, and she looks forward to being a part of the revitalization effort.
“When you think about a lot of the things we do in the shop, which involves taking something that someone has discarded and making it great again, (it’s) the same as Hamilton’s rebuilding efforts,” Vallandingham said.
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