Photo(s) Courtesy: Surcees on Facebook

Erin Adams has been making and selling soaps and other items over the Internet for years but now she's taken her love of handmade and vintage and opened the area's first real vintage store. 

A crafter from a young age, Adams opened Surcees on January 1st of this year, a great way to kick off a new year and a new business venture. Surcees, located at Lorraine Plaza in Surfside, has been a labor of love for Adams who worked day and night through the holiday season painting and retrofitting old shipping pallets into the store's displays to get the store ready for the set opening date.

Adams says she learned how to sew, paint, and crochet as a child and, "In high school" Erin says, "I would create things mostly for myself and friends, sewing pillows and clothes as gifts, painting and collage pieces for family members. I would also turn cigar boxes into purses and sell them. In college I was frustrated in art classes being forced to create things that weren't tangible. I like art you can make and use, I'm not a huge fine art fine as far as creation goes."

Since 2009 Adams has been selling her handmade products, both online and in stores. "I started my soap company Lulu Lathers out of boredom," Adams says. At that time she was living in Greensboro and a friend suggested that she take her soaps to a store called "Just Be" and sell them. "When I showed up for my meeting with the store's owner she took all the bars I brought, over 40." The store has since sold over 2000 bars. Since that time Adams has expanded her soap line and
branched out to clothing. 

In December of 2011 she put together Lulu's Handmade Market and coined it "not your grandma's craft show" as a forum to share her soap company and to feature other local "cool crafters and makers" in an environment that wasn't in a church parking lot, "I wanted music, beer, and a nice afternoon," Adams says of Lulu's Handmade Market. Adams hosted four total markets with up to 30 vendors at each selling unique, handmade goods, and she hope to continue these pop
up markets in the near future.

Adams shares that shes always known that she wanted to have a little retail store, "It's the perfect blend of entrepreneurship and creativity."

The store has truly unique, vintage clothing items; including shirts, pants, shoes, hats and sunglasses for both men and women. Additionally they have handmade items such as soaps, ear rings and necklaces. 

I'm into wearable vintage clothing because it provides a unique style without the risk of looking like every other person who picked up the same blouse or jeans from the corner boutique. 

-Erin Adams

Hop on over to Facebook and check out some of the awesome wares Surcees has to offer, also make sure to follow them on Twitter. Or make sure to just stop on by.

Store hours:

Monday: Noon - 5 p.m.Tuesday - Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.Sun: Noon - 5 p.m.