Elaa Life Made Furniture and Martha Leone Design: Local Companies Showcase Handicrafts in Pop-Up Shop | News, Sports, Jobs

A wardrobe is on display at the back of the pop-up shop, in Evolve during the weekend. Ainsley Hall

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Elaa Life Made Furniture and Martha Leone Design held a pop-up store at Evolve Shepherdstown from Friday to Sunday.

Both companies specialize in locally made furniture with beautiful and unique designs. Although it is not considered common for women to specialize in woodworking and creating cabinets and drawers, the two business representatives in the shop made it clear that they were passionate about this. what they were doing.

Elaa Life Made Furniture is an e-commerce furniture brand, which ships nationwide. The name of the brand comes from the Finnish word “elaa”, meaning “live.” Jane Tseng, who represented the brand in the pop-up store, lives near Shepherdstown and has worked with Elaa Life Made Furniture since 2017.

Tseng’s counterpart in the shop was artist and small business owner Martha Leone, who has been designing the furniture she has been selling in her business since 2012. When she was younger, Leone would sit on the floor and play with the fabric scraps left by his mother. work as a seamstress. Today, Leone uses her passion and experience in graphic design to create unique pieces of furniture designed for functionality and longevity.

According to company representatives, they teamed up to open the pop-up shop, to give potential customers a chance to see and touch the one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture for themselves.

Wind + Willow Design by Martha Leone hangs on the wall of Evolve’s pop-up store over the weekend. Ainsley Hall

“It was difficult to get people to come and touch the furniture,” said Tseng. “There’s something really satisfying about just touching the furniture and feeling the different textures. Imagine waking up and putting down your morning cup of coffee. This is one of the reasons we decided to open this pop-up store.

Not only does this give customers the opportunity to touch the furniture, but Tseng and Leone said they hope it will help increase the presence of both companies locally and build a personal relationship between the companies and community members.

“Jane and I agreed that selling and manufacturing locally is important,” said Leon. “We wanted to create a local presence, and what better place than a town like Shepherdstown and its appreciation for art.”

Opening a pop-up store at Evolve Shepherdstown gave them the opportunity to meet customers, build relationships and continue to grow their business. They also teamed up with Appalachkey Kid’s Alisha Hanlin, who sold out some of her baked goods on Saturday and Sunday, which quickly sold out.

According to Leone and Tseng, being able to hold a pop-up store in Evolve Shepherdstown’s main retail space on German Street is a great opportunity for growing businesses, like Elaa Life Made Furniture and Martha Leone Design, to connect with the community.

“One thing I find most exciting is being able to meet customers face to face,” said Leon.

Both Elaa Life Made Furniture and Martha Leone Design are dedicated to making unique and modern furniture and building relationships with others.