/ (Clockwise from left) Rosemary and Rust; Gray Apple Market; White House on the Square; Tumbleweeds
The Susquehanna Trail runs all the way through the middle of York County. A slew of local businesses call the Trail home, and a few home décor shops along the way truly stand out. If you are looking for a change in your home, these artsy shops are worth a day trip on the Trail to help you make over your home in style.
Meghan Connors and Shea Mack’s friendship and partnership had a bit of a random beginning. The two met while working together at Gold’s Gym back in 2007. Years later, Connors, with her 22 years of experience and her dream of opening a flower shop, partnered with Mack to open up their very own shop, Rosemary & Rust. They began formulating the business plan in October 2015 and officially opened shop in April 2016 at their charming venue on the Susquehanna Trail. The pair worked 90 weddings last year; however, flowers aren’t the only thing they do. Their cozy little shop also offers various locally made items such as aprons made from upcycled materials, t-shirts, mugs, and humorous greeting cards.
Rosemary & Rust is open the first Friday of the month, while also offering two or three classes a month that attract people from all over.
“We wanted something extra to connect with the community,” says Connors about their decision to start hosting floral design classes. The ladies switch up the class themes depending on the season. During the winter, they may offer Christmas wreath classes or couples’ classes around Valentines Day. This November, they are hosting a creative retreat at Camp Puh’tok, in Monkton, Maryland, where they will be offering various workshops and other activities.
The name Rosemary & Rust represents the vintage English garden style of the shop, but there is also a deeper meaning. Rosemary symbolizes friendship and rust symbolizes their love for turning old things into new creations. The pair also loves that their business’ initials, R&R, can double as rest and relaxation. In addition to the tight-knit community and short commute, they love that the venue is right in the hub of all the big wedding areas, including York, Baltimore, and Lancaster. While the ladies admit to being polar opposites, they agree that their varying characteristics truly complement each other, making them a powerful team.
Just a walk down the street from Rosemary and Rust sits The White House on the Square, a shop dedicated to repurposing discarded items. When owner Whitney Marzullo first saw the venue for her shop on the Susquehanna Trail, it was in disrepair. Marzullo and her husband had to cut their way through ivy just to open the front door. Even though the building was in bad shape, Marzullo saw so much character and fell in love with the vision of what the space could be.
She originally opened a studio photography business in the space but soon realized that studio photography wasn’t her passion. Marzullo remodeled the space into what is now a hub for gifts and home decor, specifically handmade or repurposed pieces. The shop is set up like a home, and nearly everything is for sale.
The White House on the Square is open the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the month. Marzullo spends the rest of the month antiquing, repurposing, and staging her store. Every month the space is given a new style or layout so her customers are always anticipating what is coming next. Marzullo also handmakes some of the items featured in the store, such as painted signs and a line of candles that she burns inside to make it smell welcoming and cozy.
“My purpose is to find a new life for things other people have discarded,” says Marzullo. She once turned an old door into the sales desk where she now greets her customers. Her shop is filled with unique repurposed items that she has created a new life for. Marzullo enjoys bonding with the customers who come in by sharing her advice and insight with those who may have questions on how to decorate their homes.
/ 1. & 2 Rosemary and Rust; 3. & 4. White House on the Square; 5. & 6. Tumbleweeds; 7. & 8. Gray Apple Market
Run out of a red barn on the Susquehanna Trail, Tumbleweeds aims to give customers that piece that wows everyone who comes into their homes. Lori Starz refuses to accept the title of “owner,” since it is not a one-woman operation. Tumbleweeds is the product of everyone involved, not just a single owner.
Seventeen vendors call Tumbleweeds their home, each blending with the others to create a repurposed industrial vibe. Each vendor stages their space in a realistic way to show customers how they could use the items within their own homes. Customers can meander through the various floors of the barn or even explore outside in the garden section. Starz strongly believes in the importance of giving a home a personality without breaking the bank.
Tumbleweeds is open every weekend, drawing about 500 people each week. While many locals enjoy visiting the barn, many people travel from Maryland to peruse the wares offered by the various vendors. During the week while the barn isn’t open, Starz and other vendors go on “picks” to local barns and homes to salvage items that they can repurpose into something new. Tumbleweeds has a constant flow of new things coming in and then going right back out with a new owner. This process of things blowing in and out of the store is what inspired Starz to name the business “Tumbleweeds.”
Starz chose the barn for a venue since she loved the style and its location along the heavily traveled Susquehanna Trail. Starz is so grateful for the “awesome little community” that has welcomed Tumbleweeds and helped it grow into something great.
Although it is outside the cluster of the previous shops, Gray Apple Market is worth the trip up the Susquehanna Trail. Located in a repurposed icehouse from the 1800’s, the market radiates the farmhouse style that owner Sarah Inch loves. She started an interior design company a couple of years ago by the similar name of Gray Apple Design. Many of Inch’s clients would ask where to find similar items, which inspired her to open a shop where people could easily find farmhouse décor. A lot of the items she sells in her market are sourced from online vendors, and some are handmade.
In addition to the market, Inch still runs Gray Apple Design and offers renovation services with her husband, Jeffrey Inch of Inch’s Landscape. Her husband was her biggest supporter in opening the shop, and they enjoy working as a team through the design and renovation business.
While trying to come up with a name for the business, the couple’s young daughter, Jozlyn, suggested Gray Apple because of her mother’s love of neutral colors and the fact that she was eating an apple.
“That was her piece in the business,” says Inch.
Gray Apple Market is a very new addition to the Susquehanna Trail, having just opened in April of this year. Inch uses Instagram frequently to expand her new business’ reach and give people inspiration for redecorating in her farmhouse aesthetic.
Despite the short amount of time the store has been open, Gray Apple is already making a footprint in the area, attracting people from nearby regions including Hanover and Lancaster. Inch has big plans for the future of her shop. In the coming months, she hopes to host flea markets and workshops for flower and terrarium arranging, embroidery, and sign painting. Her hope is that the shop becomes a place where people gather to connect.
