Hughesville’s Main Street is a pleasant throwback to another time. It’s a town of small shops, often with a display outside encouraging you to go inside. There are people walking, and the warm scents from small restaurants remind you that you’re hungry. But perhaps one of the most enticing storefronts is found at Beauty in the Making, 27 S. Main Street near Kathy’s Café. The building itself is reminiscent of a farmhouse. It’s a square-front, L-shaped structure that has stood the test of time, and has the ubiquitous long, welcoming porch decorated for the season. Here, Elaine “Leenie” and David Newell invite you into a shop and a philosophy.

The promotional postcard, used to highlight the Airbnb apartments in the building, expresses it perfectly: There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. It’s the couple’s vision, and is as apparent as the four-foot wooden wings that fill a wall close to the center of the shop’s main room. They are commanding, symbolic of what the couple are trying to create. This vision, and these wings, are some of what Leenie brought to Pennsylvania from her business as a wedding planner and interior designer in south Florida.

“I wanted a shop and an Airbnb,” she says. Having found love and a marriage in Pennsylvania in 2021, the Newells then needed to find the perfect space to create this new business.

“We were looking for a commercial building, somewhere between Selinsgrove and Williamsport,” Leenie says. David works as a counselor in the Milton School District, which limited the territory for the search. What was available was either too expensive or needed so much work that it wasn’t practical. Then, in December of 2021, they found the balance of price and condition in Hughesville. For Leenie and David, it was more than “a workable solution” for a business. They fell in love with their new town, with a 100-year-old building where they could create their business vision, and with the peace that a small community, far from bustling city life, offered them and the people they hoped to serve.

The first order of business was to make Airbnb space available. Leenie’s dream was for one unit, but their new old house allowed for two. They are behind and above the store, each with a private entrance, and they opened in July of 2022. She designed them, and they are filled with conveniences and comforts, like a laundry for each. Both apartments highlight great beds, lovely bath areas, and a soothing feel with books to browse, chairs that beg you to curl up, or the enclosed sunporch featured in one of the units.

The wooden wings are not the only thing Leenie brought from her former life in Florida. Her interior design work continued, and her clients are nationwide.

“Location is not an issue,” she states. “I have clients in California and Florida, and when I moved to Pennsylvania, I continued to work with them.” She has local clients, too, and wants to do more of that. Her work is not construction, but “it’s not just decorating.” Her website, beautyinthemaking.com, gives an in-depth overview of her services and products, and she can be reached at (570) 880-0700.

“You have to listen to the person who is going to live there, to see their vision, and to create that space in color and in function for them,” Leenie says. She uses texture, natural fibers, and whimsical touches, like the tree-shaped bookcase in one of the apartments.

She expands on her vision in a shop that delights without being overwhelming. It’s more than a place to buy things, but is a peek into the heart of this couple. Leenie says, “The shop goal is to inspire, not just sell. Come in! Experience the rooms in the store, and leave inspired visually, spiritually, and emotionally—ready to conquer your life.” Working with the layout of an older building, with many separate rooms, the placement of displays creates a natural flow. Shoppers are guided to explore. Browsers find rooms filled with decorative items including tiny trees, fanciful figures, wall hangings, and a dried flower bar where they can make their own arrangements. Leenie also designs gift baskets packed with items from the store. There is a large selection of functional and unique kitchen equipment. Patterned bowls, some nesting, and elegant pitchers of all sizes. Wooden spoons gather in a jar, alongside aprons—not the frilly, hostess type, but honest working aprons, in both a traditional tie style and ones that cross over in the back, giving the wearer the protection needed for the task at hand. Mugs to fill with a favorite warming brew, with handles that fit just right. Plates that stand out on nubby tablecloths and mats. And stone coasters in rough star shapes that actually hold the condensation.

The shop bustles with visitors, yet no one feels hurried or jostled. Throughout the store, everything looks as though it belongs in a modern home, but rhymes with a simpler time.

Perhaps that is the heart of Leenie’s vision. Her coffee table book, Everything Works Together (available on her website), is not a book of design, though her love of design shines through every page. It’s not a book intended to make you want to “buy a look” or to acquire stuff. It’s a book of reminders of how special you are, and how to remember to be curious and experiment, to honor yourself, and to continue to grow and learn. She wants people to remember that we are all “alive in this time for a reason.”

In everything she does, Leenie’s goal is for people to, “Connect with my work and leave in a higher place.”