Business & Tech
Safety Harbor Galleria Adds Color to Downtown District
The eclectic boutique features a wide variety of original items, many created by local artists and designers.
The first things you notice about the Safety Harbor Galleria are the colors.
Boasting a bright pink facade, pastel plastic chairs, and vibrant Florida artwork, the Second Street boutique shines like a neon beacon amidst a sea of bricks and browns.
Walk inside the door and the sensation is no different. With rooms packed full of clothing, jewelry, paintings and knick-knacks, you get the feeling that the place was designed to make the shopper feel good.
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“My idea when I started was to have an upscale boutique shop with affordable prices,” said owner April Hayes, who opened the shop five years ago.
“This is a unique shopping boutique filled with handmade and re-purposed items. It’s a lot of fun and very colorful.”
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The location was previously home to a bait shop/art gallery, and it still retains a mix of Gulf Coast style and artistic flair. Each room of the shop features a different collection of items, most created by local artists and designers.
Florida postcards made by Carol Zaires, lamps and chandeliers crafted by Judy Neland and unique sculptures created from plastic bags and tape by Gary Wise co-mingle to form a collage of interesting, eye-catching merchandise.
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The Galleria also sells paintings and re-purposed furniture by M.T. Haakon, fish rubbings by , and handmade handbags designed by the owner herself.
“We also have new clothing, not just used or ‘upcycled’ stuff,” Hayes said. “We have 11 people co-opting here, so it makes for an interesting mix.”
Hayes said she is getting ready to redo the exterior of the shop, thanks to a grant she received that will enable her to add a garden and a picket fence and unify the color scheme.
But no matter what she does to the outside, the Galleria will always feature colorful items inside.
“What makes us unique is the types of talent we have here,” Hayes added. “People are always bringing in a lot of interesting things.”
Address: 123 2nd Ave. S.
Phone: 727-799-1600
Hours: *Wed - Sun, 11am - 4pm; Mon, Tue, closed (*open during 3rd Fridays until 10pm)