Decor is both business and pleasure for Chuck Penn of Penn & Company. He shares his favorite spots in town for gifts for the home.
“Fragrance has an ability to transport us to a season, to a place, or to a memory,” says Chuck Penn, the craftsman behind more than 150 scents he
works with in his shop, Penn & Company , in Westover. From his first scent many years ago—an orange and clove fragrance he created for his mother—to the room sprays, warming pods, wax tarts, and more that fill his shop today, Penn handcrafts signature scents with a mission to share the joy of home aromas. Using fine ingredients and materials, sustainable practices, and refresher oils that make his scented items infinitely renewable, he fills the air with near-endless, year-round gift-giving possibilities. Penn finds his inspiration in shopping—he really loves to shop—and some of his favorite places for go-to gifts are right here in Morgantown. His ideal shopping day begins with the perfect cup of coffee at The Grind downtown and a stop by the Cupcakerie for their dreamy confections. He’d then spend much of his morning at the ever-eclectic and artsy River Fair Trade on High Street, where handmade and artisan items from around the world are displayed and sold, then stop in at Hoot and Howl on Walnut for drink mixes and stained glass. After lunch at Fresh Mint Indian Grill , he’d make the short drive to Beechurst Avenue for the gift items and gourmet oils of Rustic by Design . “I would classify their style as farmhouse modern,” he says. “There’s lots of wood and metal, unique vases and wooden bowls, and really cool fire pits. The two ladies who run it, Jan and Tammy, have amazing taste. And their Christmas decor is just breathtaking.” After a stop at The Tea Shoppe at Seneca Center —“so many tea gifts!”—he’d head over to the Morgantown Mall for the handmade primitives of Merrywood Lane —“they have that weathered look, lots of wood, aged tea-stained items, just very classic”—then head up to Kelly & Co. on Blue Horizon Drive. “They are two sisters, twins, who opened up just before Christmas last year,” Penn says. “They are definitively farmhouse, that neatly painted, washed-out white, really elegant farmhouse decor.” He’d make an antiquing jaunt to Washington and then Uniontown in Pennsylvania. Penn would end his day back in Morgantown with a final stop at the open-late Phoenix Bakery on Kingwood Street for a loaf of their olive and feta bread. “I really like to support local businesses, and the choices in Morgantown are endless,” he says.
merrywood lane
wells home furnishings
34 MORGANTOWN WINTER 2022
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