Inspiring Conversations with Yvonne Fenn of Coastal Cottage of Amelia
Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Fenn.
Hi Yvonne; thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
My husband suddenly passed away in 2016. I moved down from Connecticut to be closer to my parents, who lived in Tampa. I decided to return to the Florida area, having been a native, and be closer to my aging parents. By 2019, I had moved them to Amelia Island with me. I became their caregiver, which put me in a position to eliminate traveling for work, so in 2022 I bought the assets of a retail store and revamped the business to focus on home design and decor. My husband was a general contractor, and I would design with him. Now I get to do that full-time and bring that love and inspiration we have for making over homes and turning them into a sanctuary for the residents of Nassau County. It is a thrill to make people’s spaces the home they desire and have dreamt of. It is an honor to work with the county’s existing and new residents as it sees unpresidential growth. We have built a strong team that is a part of Coastal Cottage of Amelia, the rebranded name of the store. We plan to continue to grow the store and expand and be a buying center for local designers.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been challenging without the love of my life by my side but doing this work, I carry his spirit with me, which makes my heart full. Every step is made with joy and sadness as I wish he were here with me, but I know his spirit is and that fills me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us more about your business.
Coastal Cottage of Amelia, located in the plaza next to Publix on Amelia Island, has coastal-inspired eclectic furnishings, framing design services, and decor. In addition to furniture, we carry anything in the home: candles, barware, clocks, artwork, baskets, rugs, towels, serving pieces, throw pillows, lamps, planters, and even unique fishbowls! In addition to the range of fine furnishings and decor that our showroom carries, we also offer gifts, framing services, design consultations, and work from local artists. Our team and service are exemplary, as noted by the many testimonials from our customers, new and old. See our website with some select brands that we have but not limited to www.coastalcottageamelia.com.
We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success comes in three flavors:
- Making our customers thrilled and finding unique items they can call their own.
- Having a team that genuinely enjoys working together.
- Designing spaces that customers envision and bringing that vision to reality