Sunrise Rock Shop Opens In Downtown Havre de Grace

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — A mother and daughter in Havre de Grace have opened a new shop on North Washington Street. Sunrise Rock Shop welcomed its first customers just in time for the holidays.

JoAnn Teel and Chel Connolly opened the store right after Thanksgiving.

Entering the store on North Washington Street is like walking into a jewel drawer. The rectangular store is long and narrow, filled with trays of stones and colorful artworks.

Connolly, who moved back to Havre de Grace from New York, is a "stone savant," her mother told Havre de Grace Patch. She can be found educating customers about the various crystals and gemstones in stock.

Teel is an artist whose painted works are featured throughout the shop, from lively wooden bowls to owls and elephants decorated with brilliant patterns.

Since many artworks are pieces she transformed after finding them antique shops or consignment stores, she says her goal is to inspire people to "look more carefully at the world around them and to discover beauty in unusual places."

Sunrise Rock Shop itself is in a space that the family worked to recreate; the storefront was previously occupied by McLhinney 's Speakeasy Museum, which closed earlier this year and is part of a new venture to open a brewpub.

Of the Sunrise Rock Shop, one reviewer on the store's Facebook page had this to say: "Stone collectors' heaven. Unique and beautiful artwork with touches of jewelry and other unique surprises. Wonderful, warm and friendly family owned. Can’t visit without feeling happy."

Sunrise Rock Shop is at 212 North Washington Street. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and the store is closed on Mondays.

Photos above by Elizabeth Janney. Embedded images below from Sunrise Rock Shop.