Decor store Urban Hare is the fulfillment of a dream for Mandy Williams.
After numerous moves, six states, two degrees, many jobs, and her husband’s multiple tours in Iraq, Mandy Williams was ready to put down roots. One glance at a shop on Main Street in Travelers Rest and she knew she had found just the place.
“I said, ‘This would be perfect for a home decor store,’ and literally days later, there was a sign in the window announcing it was available for lease,” says Williams. The only issue: Katelyn Pinner, a floral designer with a devoted following, was eyeing the space as well.
The two creative entrepreneurs met and soon were in Tandem—the TR creperie. They found that their goals were in tandem as well, and they both signed on, agreeing to share the space.
Williams runs Urban Hare, her boutique full of timeless home decor items, in the front half of the shop and Pinner operates her floral studio in the back. They often team up for special events, and the two-in-one setup offers gift-buyers twice the options: a vase with a fresh arrangement; a bouquet and a housewarming candle. “We champion each other,” says Williams.
Her journey from accountant/military wife/mom to boutique owner has been full of twists and turns, but design has always been in her blood. “My mom says I’ve been redesigning spaces since I was seven years old,” she says.
Moving every few years due to her husband’s career in the US Marine Corps, she was always making a new house feel like home. “Everywhere we lived was different, and each house had a different character. I always wanted to put my own spin on each house without refurnishing the whole thing,” she says. “You can change accents any time.”
Turning Great Expectations into a New Reality
She began her career in merchandising and marketing, setting up stores for American Eagle and then Saks. After having her son, Aiden, she wanted more of a 9–5 job, so she went back to school for a degree in accounting.
After a few jobs in the financial world, she landed in Greenville and worked as a controller, which she enjoyed. But when her husband retired from the military and her son went off to college, she knew the time was right to achieve the dream of opening her own shop. “I said, I’m going to do something new. It’s time to do what I want to do.”
Her husband Michael Williams was immediately on board and wanted to pitch in after years of relying on her support as he pursued his military and civilian careers. “I hang stuff, carry bags at the market,” he says. “I’ve been in the Marines for so many years, directing things. It’s a change to learn to take direction, but I’ve been enjoying watching her do her thing.”
From vision to reality, opening Urban Hare has already exceeded her expectations.
“After four months, I know more people in the community now than anywhere we’ve ever lived,” she says. “It’s because I get to talk one-on-one with people. People love that sense of community, and I say, let’s hang on to that because that’s why people keep coming here.”
She’s participated in Halloween trick-or-treating, offered hot chocolate at the Christmas parade, and joined the board of directors of the Travelers Rest Chamber of Commerce, where she hopes to use her voice to the benefit of the community.
She and Michael live just off the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and as avid runners, they make frequent use of it. He works as an operations manager at T&S Brass, just down the road from the shop, so now they “live, work, and play all within a one-mile radius,” Mandy says.
Michael couldn’t be prouder. “She’s extremely smart and very creative. I’ve learned a lot from her,” he says. “She’s smiled more in the past four months than she has in the past 14 years.”
Bring in spring at Urban Hare
Mandy Williams loves to consult with people on their decorating conundrums. “I help people,” she says. “I’m not an interior designer for a living, but bring me a picture of your stuff, and I’ll help you.”
Friends and customers often bring pictures of problem spaces, blank walls, or a treasured item and ask her what they should do with it. A quick refresh is usually all they need.
Here are a few of her top picks to freshen up any room as spring blooms:
- Seagrass tray—”These can be used in any season, in any room. Put a book and a nice carafe on it in a guest bedroom, or put it on a runner in the dining room and fill it with moss-covered balls.”
- Dough bowls—An endlessly versatile piece; try one in an entryway filled with seed pods or on a coffee table filled with mango wood balls.
- Tapestries—”They are huge, so if you want to cover a big space, like in a stairwell, they are perfect.”
- Swan Creek Candles—A huge seller with a great price point. Perfect for hostess or housewarming gifts.
- Sawyer Naturals bath products—Locally made using milk from a Marietta goat farm.
- Twin Creeks Lavender—Tuck in a vase or hang these bunches anywhere; they look pretty and smell amazing for up to a year.
Photography by Jack Robert Photography.
