June 13, 2008

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth

CAMP Profile

It’s been a coast-to-coast-to-coast journey back home for Brad Holsinger and Ed Moore, but when they returned, they not only came home, they made their love of home and family a brand new Rehoboth Avenue business.

Mod Cottage is located on the ground level of the new Hotel Rehoboth and is, as Brad describes, “an urban home store with a beach twist.” It owes its colorful and contemporary stock to a splash of Laguna Beach, a dash of West Hollywood showmanship, a love of Rehoboth Beach, and most significantly, to a tale of two men who took coming full circle into both their hearts and their business.

The story of Brad and Ed begins in Washington, DC, in 1994. Soon after meeting they joined throngs of fellow DC’ers and were snaking their way up Beltways and over bridges to weekend in Rehoboth Beach. And life was good. And then it happened. Somewhere along the way they both turned forty! And it was time for a change.

Heeding the cry to “go west, young men,” Ed transferred locations with his airline, Brad sold his business, and off they went to enjoy some laid back, West Coast living. But a change in city wasn’t enough; they needed to be doing something different. The Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams Showroom in West Hollywood became that something different. A friend came to them with an opportunity to own and establish Mitchell Gold’s first California satellite showroom and thus they forayed their way into the world of home furnishings

Now before you think this is becoming a simply sappy saga, their change in direction is best summed up by Brad’s rather cheerful and teasing explanation, “For Ed, spending money on his home is like giving money to his church.”

So with a backdrop of home as castle (or temple as it may be) and personal passion now discovered, engaged and satiated, it seems the story has a happy ending and thus it should end. But it still has one more turn to take. Ed is a Baltimore Boy, Brad hails from Virginia and in a post 9/11 world, it no longer felt like a hop, skip and a jump to come home to family and friends. And slowly they realized it was now time to “go east, young men.”

This wasn’t really a question of wherethey were coming to the place they loved best, Rehoboth Beach. They were coming home. Only this time they weren’t selling a business, they were buying one. They were coming loaded with exclusive lines (such as Simon Pearce and Gus Design Furniture) and wares ranging from plush towels for the bath to polka-dotted ice cream bowls. It’s a playful burst of ideas designed to accent joy in every room in your home. Affordable luxury items gleaned from their showroom years.

Timing is everything and Brad and Ed couldn’t be happier that their decision timed out precisely with Hotel Rehoboth’s design team’s desire to have several shops incorporated into their property. “We knew that our shop needed to be in downtown Rehoboth not only for business reasons, but also to complete our own dream from all those weekends ago. To be a new business and have the support of Hotel Rehoboth on all levels has been an enormous benefit.”

The DC turned LA returned Rehoboth men had another surprise waiting for them. It wasn’t only the hotel that seemed to care if they succeeded. Leaving a world often aptly described as dog-eat-dog, the support from the business community leaves them happily startled. From their dynamic new neighbors, Cleo’s ( a woman’s apparel shop) and Spaggia’s, (the new in-town restaurant by Matt Haley) to business owners throughout our town, they heard more than welcomes there was always support, be it an offer of help or a shared tidbit of knowledge someone else had learned the hard way.

As home and business marched to opening day, their celebrations included a visit to the Georgetown SPCA whereby Zoey joined Gabby and Sophie in the coming home of it all. Because for all the furnishings they have amassed, the secret favorite is their own “L” shaped sofa, “as it can fit the whole family at once.”

From bedrooms to bathrooms to kitchens, decks, gardens and even your pet’s eating and sleeping arrangements, Mod Cottage is here and ready to furnish your house with wares for a home, in an urban, beach chic style that Brad and Ed know you and your family will enjoy. So as their odyssey ends, their new adventure begins.

Mod Cottage is located at 247A Rehoboth Avenue and www.modcottage.net.

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 18, No.07 June 13, 2008